Amor Vincit Omnia
by Kaleidoscopewriter
Summary: The Pureblooded children of the most elite and powerful wizarding families carry a dangerous secret. They're cursed to turn into magical creatures bond by magic as ancient as Hogwarts to the one deemed Voldemort. Hermione finds out this secret and is thrown into their world where she forms strong frienships and finds an even stronger love with the one most feared in the group, Ron.
1. What she saw

I don't own anything and thanks to my lovely beta's **TheyCallMeHopeless** and **EveryBodyHatesHugo81**

_All was quiet in the cemetery as the last few family members in their black clothes made their way in the drizzling rain to their cars. Hermione stood beside the grave with her small hand gripping tightly to her mother beside her in her own little black dress quietly listening to her mother's sniffles._

_"Hermione love, here, take this..." her mother whispered in her gentle smooth voice as she bent down to her level and covertly handed her a long rectangular jewelry box. Her brown eyes flew up to her mother's red ones with surprise, making no move to grab the proffered box._

_"It's a present from your da-from your daddy," her mother choked out around a sob, opening the box through her tears and holding up the necklace for Hermione to see._

_Eyes wide, Hermione took the long delicate golden chain from her mother's fingers and placed the golden heart pendant into her palm, inspecting the words engraved inside its center._

_"Amor Vincit Omnia. It means, Love Conquers All. It was your daddy's favorite motto." Her mother said with her tears flowing freely as she took the necklace back to place over her head._

_"There, you look beautiful" she said with a brave watery smile, lifting Hermione's mass of hair so the dainty chain can fit properly on her neck, "This necklace has been in your daddy's family for a long time, my love, so you must promise mummy that you will take good care of it, alright?" she asked, staring seriously into Hermione's eyes._

_"And when you need some comfort for whatever reason, I want you to take hold of this and squeeze it to your heart and think of me and your daddy and just how much we love you, okay baby? Can you remember that?" she asked as Hermione finally nodded._

_Crying, Hermione's mother quickly pulled her into her arms and held onto her tight, sobs wracking her body as Hermione stood there holding tightly the heart to her chest, her own face scrunching up as her tears finally started to fall._

The locket still felt warm with her body heat as she held it in her hand and pressed it tightly to her heart, begging in her mind for patience. She then safely put it back down underneath her clothes where it fell right between her breasts and laid close to her heart.

Feeling slightly better, Hermione pulled out her wand and assessed her situation. She was in the loo trapped in a stall, the green extremely sticky sap that was thrown in with her had exploded all over the door, walls and her person and smelled distinctly like a dumpster. She grimaced wondering how hard it would be to get the stink out from her clothes, if ever before she tried to think of ways to vanish it.

However, a few spells later proved the sappy goo to be a lot stronger than she thought.

_'It's okay, Hermione... you've gotten through much worse than this. It's alright if you're stuck in her for a little while, someone will surely come looking for you. Dean will surely notice you're missing at lunch if someone hasn't gone to mess with him and maybe Justin might notice in Arithmancy, that is, if Ernie isn't there...'_

Biting her lip, fighting back tears Hermione sat back down on the toilet seat and focused on controlling her breathing. When she felt composed again she just sat there and waited, practicing wand movement as she recalled what she had learned that day in classes.

It took one hundred and thirty eight minutes for Professor McGonagall to come into the girls lavatory and another fifteen to get her out. She had to take four showers after that to get all the goo and stink out and her clothes were officially declared unwearable by her dorm mates Lavender and Parvati, who had tried a whole bunch of cleaning charms for her while she got cleaned up.

It was with a heavy tired heart that Hermione made her way down to the Great Hall for dinner after licking her wounds in the library for hours. Ignoring the chatter, snickers and stares from her peers who heard about her bathroom incident, Hermione took a seat at the end of Gryffindor's table closest to the doors and opened a book to read as she ate.

"There you are Hermione," a voice said, the sound of them plopping down next to her raising her eyes to her intruder.

"Oh, hi Dean." Hermione said with a forced smile, putting down her book.

"Hi. So I, err, heard about what happened earlier..." he said with a grimace as food appeared onto his plate, Hermione sighed.

"You and probably the founders of Hogwarts themselves!" she said with an eye roll as Dean smiled.

"Yeah...are you alright though Hermione? Really? Tell me the truth." he asked worriedly to which Hermione felt a rush of appreciation for her friend, enough so that it put a small genuine smile on her face.

"I'm alright Dean. I'll have to borrow a new uniform since I'm poor and can't afford a new one but other than that I'm okay." Hermione said with a shrug as Dean assessed her for a second.

"Well if you're sure." he said distrustfully turning back to his food.

"Yes, I'm sure." she responded softly, absentmindedly fingering the indent of her heart pendant through her clothes. A second later a disturbance by the entrance doors drew both of their attention and the entire Great Hall for that matter.

Draco Malfoy was the first one her eyes were drawn to with his head of shocking, soft looking platinum blonde hair, his lidded light gray eyes giving him a sultry look as they by passed everyone. Next to him, Harry Potter stood like his polar opposite with his shiny black wind swept hair and almond shaped green eyes hidden behind his glasses. And then there was Ronald Weasley, standing at the tallest a step behind the other two gazing down at the floor, his flaming red hair covering his eyes but his clenched fists telling a story themselves hanging at his sides.

They swept in with their usual bored flair, their closed off expressions holding everyone but one another at a distance as they took their seats with the rest of the Pures. Cho Chang with her incredibly long black hair and light golden sparkling eyes immediately launched her rather attractive body at Harry; Pansy next to her with her blunt cut smooth brown hair and tall skinny figure quickly attached herself to Draco's side.

Neville, Blaise, Luna and Ginny instantly were leaning into the two and conversation immediately started between the eight of them. Hermione noticed that as usual it seemed that no one besides a small smile from Luna started engaging with Ronald, not even his sister. It was all rather strange to Hermione, the way that none of the other Pures ever seemed to care for the tall red head. It wasn't like he wasn't good looking enough since all the Pures seemed to have been blessed to have incredibly noticeable beauty, though even amongst them it was Draco, Harry and Ron that had the most votes with the female and some of the male population. He did have a rather horrible temper, however, but she still didn't think that to be the cause of his estrangement.

She was probably just looking too far into things since no one else seemed to notice a rift between the group, not like the Pures ever let someone come into their tight nit circle anyway.

"What are you thinking about?" Dean asked, finally drawing Hermione's attention away from the group.

"Nothing really." she said with an embarrassed blush for getting caught staring as Dean chuckled beside her.

"I still can't help but find it strange..." he said, his own dark eyes roving over to the Pures.

"What?" She asked curiously, purposefully telling herself not to look over to that table again.

"How they can just come and go from Hogwarts as they please...It's like a slap in the face how much favoritism they get, you know. I mean, look at how long they were gone for this time and then they just come strolling back from probably some fancy exotic vacation in like... the Amazon jungle, or something, without a care in the world a whole week later!" Dean said, a tint of greed and envy marring his voice as he gazed at them. "I bloody hate the lot of them, but especially Potter, Weasley and Malfoy cause they're the ones who leave the most and then come back acting all high and mighty!"

"Oh come off it Dean. I don't really think you hate all of the Pures..." Hermione said teasingly as Dean ducked his head with embarrassment and then frowned back up at her...Hermione smirked and continued despite his glare. "I actually think you're rather found of the Pure girls, especially that Cho Chang girl..."

Narrowing his eyes, Dean humphed and folded his arms but couldn't help but gaze back at the table in front of them.

"Oh bullocks, fine! You're right...I wouldn't hesitate to shag either one of those girls and I would definitely jump at the chance to shag Cho but that doesn't mean I have to actually like any of them. They might be beautiful Hermione, but there right bitches to anyone who isn't one of the Pure guys." he spat out harshly picking up his cup and taking a swing of his drink. Hermione sighed at her bitter friend.

"I suppose your right." she said her eyes flashing quickly to the table just in time to see Ginny Weasley averting her own eyes from Dean with a small frown on her face.

Hermione's brows furrowed at that, wondering if maybe Dean was speaking loudly enough for her to hear all the way from her table. She doubted it but wasn't too sure. Besides Hermione couldn't see Ginny Weasley caring what Dean Thomas, a halfblood being raised by a muggle woman, would say about her or her friends. Her blood was too pure to be sullied by a lessers dirty words.

After dinner, Hermione hung out with Dean a little longer by the safely obscured Black lake where Dean decided to make a quick sketch of the black lake and Hermione watched him good heartily envious of her friends natural talent.

Lost in her own musings, Hermione stayed outside the castle long after Dean decided to leave, giving her his beautiful picture of the full moon hanging over the black lake. As per her usual habit, Hermione withdrew her heart necklace from underneath her shirt and fiddled with the pendant; opening and closing as she thought to herself about the continuous bullying she was forced to face since she got to Hogwarts.

'_What am I doing? Sitting here moping in the dark about my problems won't change anything. I have to be strong, like mum was.' _She thought, an image of her mother's gentle smiling face burning in her mind's eye.

_"Hermione my love, do you know just how much I am proud of you...my smart kind beautiful girl...I love you with all my heart!"_

"I love you too mum!" Opening her locket to gaze down at the small pictures fitted into the sides of the hearts of her parents smiling faces. "I'll try harder to make you both proud up there...With your love to guide me I know I can do this." she whispered, gazing up at the stars with a small sad smile.

"Well, well, well...Lookie here Millicent, I think the mudblood actually has something worth value in her hands!"

Closing her eyes in dread, Hermione clenched tight to her necklace with one hand and withdrew her wand from the other, pointing it at the gang of her terrorizers since her first year: Daphene Greengrass, Millicent Bulstrode and the twins Flora and Hestia Carrow.

"Oh ho ho! Look at this! Seems the mudblood wants to play!" Millicent continued as the rest of the gang smirked and sniggered, positioning themselves to surround her.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at their movements and held out her wand with a sure grip, looking for any escape route. The edge of the forbidden forest was just slightly to her right, she knew that if she could manage to scoot that way just a little more, she could make a break for the trees and lose them in the dark forest. It was risky but better than something happening to her necklace or being drowned in the black lake. So she decided to keep them talking as she edged slightly closer to the forest.

"Came to gloat Millicent? I know it was you four who trapped me in the stall earlier." Hermione accused as the girls started laughing with malicious glee.

"Well aren't you bright _mudblood_? Figure that one out all on your own?" Daphene asked with mocking sarcasm.

"Yeah, it was us! Gave us a right laugh to hear you were stuck in there for almost two hours...Then again no one would actually come looking for you now would they mudblood? Since your nothing but a disgusting dirty blooded bookworm. I bet you the only friends you have are you worthless mummy and daddy!" Millicent said cruelly as Hermione hand clenched around her wand.

"Shut your mouth Millicent cause you're in danger of looking far dumber than your usual Troll brained self." Hermione retorted tersely, backing slowly away as she finally got closer and closer to the forests edge.

"Don't you talk to me like that your filthy foul little mudblood! You're the one whose dumb for even coming to Hogwarts! You should have stayed with your pathetic muggle parents and never even stepped foot into our world! Then again, you were probably just a lonely pathetic loser even before you came here weren't you, you little freak! That's cause no one can stand you and your know-it-all attitude!" Millicent bellowed with her own wand raised as she took menacing steps toward Hermione.

"You know _nothing_ about my life Bulstrode so why don't you stop making assumptions. You do know what they say about those who assume, don't you?" Hermione retorted with her own sarcastic look.

"That's it mudblood! I think it's time we put an end to your damn smart mouth!" she bellowed, her face an angry flush as she raised her wand.

It was at that moment that Hermione made her move. With a quick swish of her wand, Hermione bellowed '_Protego_!' to block _Millicent's_ 'expelliarmus!' and ran straight into the forest.

Great panting breaths escaped her as she zig-zagged with single minded purpose, dodging and ducking behind trees away from their curses.

"Get her! Don't let that mudblood go free!" She heard Millicent scream behind her, fueling her legs to go faster, uncaring of the treacherous branches scratching her.

She continued to run even though the sound of footsteps had receded behind her, adrenaline and panic fueling her. She ran until a tree branch made her fall harshly onto the dirty ground.

Gasping, Hermione flipped onto her back and stared up at the starry night sky above her, at the dark leaves stirring with the breeze. Over the loud thumping of her heart, Hermione was relieved that she couldn't hear Millicent or her brainless gang of prejudice twists.

Staring up at the sky with her heaving breaths and completely filthy from sweat and dirt, Hermione took a moment to laugh at how her life could not get more pathetic. It really was almost comical how bad her luck in life is-poor, parentless outcast on the run from her childhood bullies...She shook her head, a giggle escaping her. Could this really be her life?

Her smile fell as the tears finally pooled in her eyes, spilling down her dirty cheeks and into the dirt beneath her. Hermione raised her hands up and pressed them to her eyes, trying to hold back the tears even as the sobs wracked her body.

"Stay strong Hermione. You can't let them know that they're getting to you... You have every right to be here!"

_"Look at this Hermione!" Her mother's excited voice rang out from across the yard. Hermione raised her head, her eyes taking in one last sentence from her book before she actually looked at her mother._

_She was surprised to see her mother running towards her, an open envelope in her hand. She would have panicked slightly at the sight since her mother never full out ran for any reason...but she could see even from a distance the radiant smile on her face._

_"What is mum?" Hermione questioned, her own excitement rising as she stood up from the swing and met her mother halfway._

_"Oh Hermione!" was all her mother could say, laughing even as tears ran down her face._

_"What? What is it mum?" she asked with excited impatience as her mother sank down on her knees before her, her eyes alight with a bright wondrous look as she gazed at her only child._

_"Read it." she responded, her smile turning sly as she lifted the letter for Hermione to take._

_Cautiously, Hermione took the letter with both of her hands, feeling the strange smoothness of the paper as she flipped it over. She read the elegant script of her name and address, noting that there was no address of the sender. Quickly raising her eyes to look at her mother, Hermione flipped it back over once more, barely sparing a thought for the broken red seal as she reached inside and took out her letter._

_Her eyes steadily got wider as her eyes zig-zagged rapidly across the paper, her mouth falling open slightly as she read the last line. Her mother wiggled with anticipation as she waited for her only child to finish and react._

_"I can't believe it..." Hermione whispered just as her mother gave a loud squeal of excitement and launched herself at Hermione, making all the air in her body shoot out with a loud whoosh._

_"I know! Of course, I'm not surprised at all that you're really magical Hermione! I've always none you were special since you were in my womb! Call it mother's tuition...I just thought you'd... I don't know, grow up and be the first female ruler of the world, with your brains...being magical was always an suspicion though...a close second to the future Ms. Universe-" her mother rambled excitedly as Hermione just stared down numbly at the letter in her immobile hand._

_"No mum!" Hermione interrupted, her temper flaring as she crushed the letter in her hand. "I really can't believe it! I bet you this is one of Mary's tricks again! Their probably all having a laugh at me right now at how they got the nerdy bookworm! Honestly mum! How could you even believe this is real! It's completely rid-"_

_"Oh my angel..." her mother said, her excited tones turning gentle and slightly said as she pulled back to gaze at her. Gently, with a small tender smile, Hermione's mother reached up her hands and lovingly pushed the wild curls she got from her father, back behind her little ears._

_Stubbornly, Hermione scrunched up her face so her tears wouldn't fall at her mother's knowing look in her eyes. Still, some treacherous tears got out so her mother gently brushed them away with her thumbs._

_"Hermione, it's okay to cry when you are hurt..." her mother whispered, and just like that the damn broke loss and big fat vicious tears burst through, streaming down her face. Hermione followed the gentle pull of her mother into her arms and took comfort in her gentle caresses._

_"It's alright, my brave, smart, strong, baby girl. I'm here for you my angel. I will always be here for you." her mother soothed as Hermione finally started to calm down. "Those other girls who pick on you...they are being mean so that they can bond with other girls in your class so they aren't the ones picked on. They're just scared Hermione but you... you are braver than they are and so much smarter._

_You know that the friendships brought about by cruelty are never friendships worth pursuing, because they are never lasting...Those type of girls will go through most of their lives being so afraid of being ousted they'll do or say anything to not stand out or be different until eventually, those girls will lose all sense of who they really are. They'll continue to form meaningless fake friendships and hide their lonely feelings behind plastered smiles until they burst..._

_'But you, my angel. You will always be able to stand tall because you will not drown in fakeness like them. You know who you are, now more so than ever, and you know that with your bravery, your kindness you will attract other people who are real just like you. You just have to keep your chin up Hermione, and your heart open and know that no one and nothing is worth the price of losing who you really are. Do you understand?" Her mother said, lifting her chin so their eyes connected._

_Hermione smiled a watery smile as she nodded._

_"Good! But just in case, if you ever really feel backed into a corner than I give you full permission to fight fire with fire and beat them bloody and then come tell me so I can beat them bloody! My little angel will not be a push over!" Her mother said, her gentle tones turning fierce as she glared at the invisible enemy and brought up her fists. Hermione couldn't help but giggle at her ridiculous mother._

_"Alright, mum! I get it." she said with a faux long-suffering sigh as she continued to beat down the invisible enemy as they walked back to the house._

Hermione couldn't help but smile at the memory, her hand reaching down to clutch at the indent of her heart pendant. She could still see her mother fiercely fighting air in her honor like it was yesterday. Of course, that was the day she had found out she was a witch. Professor McGonagall had been waiting patiently with a cup of tea in her living room when they had walked back inside and explained everything to her. She had thought so strongly that her life was changing for the better that day...little had she known just how much struggle and strife she would go through entering her Hogwarts years, that she was still going through.

Her mother's words still rang true, however. Bulstrode and her gang were hardly worth her tears. They definitely weren't worth her getting all depressed on the dirt in the middle of the forbidden forest.

With that thought, Hermione quickly sprang up from the ground, patting the dirt off her clothes. She paused for a second before smacking herself on her forehead, before she weaved her wand and quickly cleaned her clothes and herself off with a spell. That done, Hermione took a deep breath and scanned the forest around her, her next biggest problem being she had no way of knowing how to get out of the forest.

Nervously, she jumped at the howling that sounded off in the distance, only then realizing the huge danger she was in being all alone in the notorious dark forest. When another howl sounded a little too close for Hermione's liking she could feel the start of try debilitating fear strike through her. She could curse herself for ever thinking that running into the Forbidden forest was a smart decision... How could she have been so stupid to forget the horrible creatures that dwell in the forest? She knew that her panic had striped her of her rational and now she was facing possible death at the jaws of some beast or worse, expulsion if Millicent or her cronies dared to blab to a teacher.

"No, don't panic, Hermione. You need to think...think, think, think!" she said to herself, squeezing her eyes shut and clenching her hands trying to think. Taking deep breath she decided that the best start would be to disillusion and put a silencing charm on her feet so she wasn't completely like a sitting duck.

"Right," she said to herself once that was done, "now, I just have to find a way back to the castle...if only I had a compass...Oh!" she exclaimed, hitting herself in the forehead. "Duh! Point Me!" she said with a wave of her wand, pleased when a misty arrow appeared to her left.

Feeling slightly calmer, Hermione followed the path of arrows. Still, every nerve in her body was hyper aware even at the soothing sounds of crickets and whispering breeze tickling her skin. She jumped at every hoot, spun frantically to any twig snap and kept her wand raised in front of her, her breaths came out in panicked pants, her blood coursed loudly throughout her body. She was immensely grateful for the full moon that lit her path so she didn't have to use a _lumos_! and feel even more vulnerable.

An almost dizzying wave of relief hit her when ahead in the distance she could make out a break in the trees. Eager to quickly get out of the scary forest, Hermione broke out into a run for the tree line, very eager to just curl up into a ball underneath her Gryffindor comforter back in the dorms. In her haste, Hermione once again lost her footing on a tree root and roughly face planted into the dirt just at the tree line.

"What the hell was that?" a voice asked ahead of her.

Hermione's heart plummeted as she recognized the voice, and slowly, with mortification and dread, raised her head from the ground and promptly froze with shock.

There, standing in front of her were not one or two but _all_ of the Pures. Her face burning, Hermione waited for them to start laughing and making fun of her...possibly calling her a disgusting dirty mudblood and cursing her. Shockingly however, it was only Ronald Weasley who was looking even remotely her way, the rest all either ignoring him or continuing to talk among one another.

"What was what? I didn't hear anything." Ginny Weasley said, finally tearing her eyes from gazing at the sky to her brother. Shaking his head with his ever present frown, Ronald Weasley turned back around to gaze up at the sky.

"Nothing, never mind, Ginny." Hermione could barely hear him mumble. Ginny gave him an indecipherable look before she too raised her head to look back at the sky, leaning back on her arms from where she was casually reclining on the ground beside a faintly smiling Luna Lovegood and an expressionless Neville Longbottom.

Blinking owlishly and sitting up onto her knees, Hermione failed to understand before mentally giving herself a slap at forgetting she had disillusioned herself. It was then that Hermione fully understood the strangeness of what she had stumbled upon. Not only was she not anywhere near Hogwarts, she was back at the Black lake on the complete opposite side from the castle at the deepest point in some sort of clearing next to the shoreline.

Even stranger still was the fact that all the Pures had gathered in this secluded far away landscape, staring up at the sky with what Hermione deciphered to be expectant expressions. Hermione decided to take this very rare moment to examine the Pures in their own element. She noticed right away how ethereal they all looked in the pale light of the moon touching down upon their skin, she wondered how it could be so that each one of them was so beautiful.

Ginny, Luna, and Neville were the only ones actually on the ground, with Ronald standing not too far away next to them. Pansy Parkinson was surprisingly sitting calmly on a huge rock that was peaking out of the lake and staring at the reflection of the moon on the lakes surface. Blaise Zabini was actually leaning on the very same rock with his arms crossed over his chest as he gazed up at the night sky. Cho chang was next to him but instead of looking at the sky, she was staring at Harry Potter with a complicated look Hermione couldn't even begin to understand, her elegant hands absentmindedly running through her incredibly ridiculous silky, long thick black hair. Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter were the only ones quietly conversing as they stood tall side by side close to the shore line with very serious expressions.

Hermione wished she could hear them but didn't dare move closer, in fact, she even started to back up. She had a strange feeling in her gut that she was intruding on something extremely private and she didn't want to risk getting discovered spying. Yet, as scooted back into the cover of the trees, she found she didn't want to leave either. She just had to know what they were doing here...what they were expecting...

Maybe it was because she was just too damn curious to find out why the Pures were just so closed off from everyone else. Even each other, she thought as her eyes flitted about their empty expressions and felt the heavy atmosphere.

She tried to think up of a time she'd even once seen the Pures truly laugh together throughout the years and could not come up with an instance. Sure, she had seen them laugh politely at a joke a Professor said in class but she'd never seen them truly enjoying anything, not even their popularity. If anything, the over attention they received seemed to make them even more closed off from everyone else as Hermione thought of their polite smiles they flashed sometimes to keep everyone else at a distance.

She was startled from her thoughts when quite suddenly all the Pures tensed up, Draco and Harry, immediately cutting their conversation as an eerie silence fell, it seemed, all over the forest. Those sitting on the ground quickly stood up and in disturbingly perfectly synchronized movement the all stared trans-fixedly at the moon now hovering directly above them and then started unbuttoning their shirts and tugging on their skirts and trousers.

Hermione watched blankly for a moment, completely not understanding what was happening until it was like she all the sudden stepped into a nudist colony. Feeling appalled at what was going but at the same time strangely mesmerized, Hermione continued to watch, trying to ignore her pounding heart as more and more skin was revealed to her and the night.

She couldn't help but let her eyes trail, gulping at the stunning bodies in front of her, all perfect in their different ways. She followed the lean lines of their back sides, over plump round romps, broad shoulders, hourglass hips of both the girls and the boys. She felt the strange need to pinch herself to see if this was all real. Had she stepped into another world... some strange alternate universe, the twilight zone or something? She wouldn't be surprised if an alien space craft came and carried them away at this point...

The next second, however, Hermione knew that something was up as the Pures all seemed to clench up, hissing breathes of air whistling through clenched teeth, long drawn out moans and groans all reaching her ears from where she was crouched completely frozen leaning against a tree. Her eyes grew as suddenly Pansy plunged with a stunning swan dive into the Black lake, with Luna quickly climbing onto the large rock and following after. She half expected for the rest of the Pures to go into the lake as well, maybe they were all just skinny diving? But that theory quickly was chucked as none of them made a step closer to the edge of the lake.

No, instead Hermione watched as the strangeness just kept increasing. Trans-fixedly she stared as muscle moved under flawless skin and bodies twisted, bones creaked and they all stared to morph right before her eyes. She couldn't help but cringe as the skin of Ginny, Cho, Draco, and Harry ripped harshly, making all of them howl with pain.

At that point, everything happened pretty quickly as Hermione continued to watch this time with horror as the Pures that were once human before her were now all something else entirely.

They were monsters.

Ginny, now a rather large, strong pale white horse with a mane and tail of flaming red hair and huge long white wings, quickly galloped straight into the air with an impressive whoosh of her wings. Neville too transformed into a horse... or rather, a huge powerful black unicorn with a stunning, long glittering horn and gracefully trotted to the black lake, taking a sip of water. Hermione nearly jumped when not too far away from the unicorn, Luna emerged from the water looking perfectly normal as far as Hermione could tell...that is until the girl started giggling and splashing Neville before swimming away with her legs now bright blue sparkling fins because she just happened to be a mermaid.

Feeling faint, it only became worse for Hermione when out of nowhere a huge cat fish head popped out of the water from where Luna had disappeared under. It's eyes glowed with a bright white light, its massive serpentine body breaking out of the water for a distance at least thirty feet out. Numbly, Hermione realized she was looking at a leviathan, a serpentine sea monster, and that that leviathan was really Pansy Parkinson.

Hermione was distracted from this mind boggling thought when another different and, if possible, even fiercer serpent slithered off. Luckily it went in a direction far away from Hermione, who quickly averted her eyes from the form of Blaise, now transformed into a deadly basilisk. Feeling completely petrified, Hermione didn't dare to even breath until she could no longer hear its bone chilling ominous hissing.

It was then that the flapping of winds finally registered in her numb mind, and she turned her head to look back to see two more flying creatures in the clearing. Biting her lip, Hermione bit back a gasp at the massive dragon before her getting ready to take flight. She knew without a doubt that it was Draco because of the startling color of its huge silver eyes. She also knew that this type of dragon he transformed into is called a Hebridean Black dragon since she could recognize the gleaming obsidian scales from her care of magical creatures textbook. Her observations were quickly over however, when he took off into flight a second later.

She only had a few second to gaze in wonder this time at the beautiful multicolored phoenix with glowing bright green eyes before it took flight with such an effortless stretch of its wings. Hermione followed after the form of Harry as it ascended with a harmonious cry that had a newly reappeared Luna giggling and a unicorn Neville neighing up at him.

Realizing she was gaping, Hermione dumbly snapped her mouth shut, taking a shuttering breath as suddenly inexplicable tears pooled in her eyes. Her whole body shook worse than a leaf and she knew that this strange inability to think was her in complete shock.

_Calm down Hermione. Just calm down...calm down_. She repeated inside of her head like a mantra as she sat with her head between her knees.

The sound of a twig snapping had her turning into stone. She heard over the loud thumping of her panicked heart, sounds of something sniffing the air very close to her hiding spot. Not even daring to breath, Hermione slowly raised her head, fear and apprehension turning every nerve ending in her body prickly with alarm.

Clasping her hands over her mouth to stifle her gasp, Hermione's wide eyes were fixated on the leopard in front of her as it prowled closer and closer.

_Oh no! Please don't get any closer! Please God! Don't let it come closer!_ She silently begged in her head completely horrified as it steadily got nearer, it's head tilted down and sniffing the grass, obviously tracking her scent.

It was so close she could clearly see the dilated cat pupils, the fine muscles of its shoulders as it moved with silent paws, even the whiskers flicking as it tasted the air. Her heart literally stopped beating in her chest when those cat eyes flew up and stared directly into her own brown eyes.

A tense moment followed in which it felt like, to Hermione, the entire world slipped away and it was just her completely vulnerable in the eyes of a predator as it took one ominous deep breath of air.

Immediately, the instinctual fight or flight response tapped in Hermione and a second later, without a conscientious thought, Hermione was up and taking off through the trees.

She ran as fast as she could without a single thought in her mind besides getting away as fast as possible. She ran so hard and fast it was almost surreal. Twigs caught into her hair, branched harshly slapped every inch of her body as she whizzed past but nothing registered to her besides keeping her legs going. She didn't even realize that there was nothing following after her for she couldn't even hear anything over her beating heart.

She continued to run frantically, bursting out of the forbidden forest with cut up, dirty flailing limbs, and her eyes panicked and wide looking quite a sight. She didn't pause as Hogwarts finally was within her sights; she kept going, running head on straight up to the castle doors.

Only once she had slammed the entrance doors behind her, did Hermione finally catch her breath, falling heavily back on the doors. She gasped for air, sliding down onto the floor with her back propped up bracing her arms on her knees and her head in her hands.

When she regained her breath, Hermione mechanically made her way back up to Gryffindor tower as her mind replayed image after image of the Pures turning into those creatures. They plagued her as she numbly undressed to take a shower once she was in the dormitories. Slowly, thoughtfully, she rubbed the soup into her skin, questions plaguing her all the while.

Could what she had seen really have been real? Did the Pures all just turn into creatures right before her eyes? How was that even possible? Why? How the bloody hell could they just morph into those beasts? There was just no way it could be possible...but she had seen it, hadn't she? It had happened right in front of her face! She could still recall them all standing there naked as their skin rippled, stretched, ripped apart...

She sputtered when water spilled into her mouth, realizing she was standing blankly with her mouth gaping as she thought. Sighing heavily, she reached out and turned the water off stepping out and drying herself off. Her balance wavered as she got dressed for bed quietly as she could, feeling overwhelming exhaustion that caused black swirling dots to form in her vision.

Crawling into bed with a contented sigh, Hermione reached out to touch her necklace and frowned at the absence of the dainty gold chain. Heart thundering in her chest Hermione immediately sat up in her bed, her eyes going wide as she patted herself down.

"Oh no...oh no oh no oh no! Please this cannot be happening, please please!" she begged to herself as she searched all around her frantically for that gold chain, for that heart shaped necklace.

Tears streaming down her face, Hermione practically flew back to the bathroom, her eyes searching...by the time she gave up looking her entire belongings were strewn out everywhere around her. She could only stand there in the chaotic mess she created feeling more defeated and lost than she had all night long.

* * *

The light wind rustled his hair into his eyes as he put back on his shoes.

It was so quiet out here...not even a cricket chirped in this stillness, only the rustling of clothes on skin broke the silence as they all got dressed. It was like a whole different world.

He lost himself to the silence for a moment, staring down at the golden locket cradled in his rather large hand. Now that he was back to being a human, he could use his thumbs to open the tiny clasp.

He stared down at the pictures, his brow furrowing at the unrecognizable faces of a smiling man with curly brown hair and the woman wearing a wide grin, her hair falling slightly into a face. He immediately knew that these people were muggles, the unmoving pictures showing slightly the tops of the muggle clothes. It didn't really help him to find out who it was that he had smelled out here spying on them.

With a frustrated growl, Ron snapped the locket back shut, effectively getting the attention of the others.

"What is it Ron?" Luna asked in that wispy curious tone as she moved next to him, daring to place a hand on his forearm to peer at what he held in his hand.

Gritting his teeth, Ron raised his head and looked very seriously at all of the faces around him, holding up the golden locket in front of him so they could all see it.

"We've got a problem...


	2. What she didn't do

Many thanks to my wonderful Beta, They'll Call Me Hopeless!

* * *

The sun was harshly shining directly into Hermione's blurry eyes as she stirred from her slumber. A wretched feeling sat heavily in her stomach, making her frown as she slowly opened her eyes to the new day. Her body felt dreadful, a sickly feeling of depression loomed over her and as she sat up she was startled to find all her belongings in a complete disarray.

Hermione cocked her head in confusion, glancing up to inquire to her roommates what happened, but she was all alone in the dorm room. Pushing off her covers, Hermione stood from the bed, placing her hands on her hips as she gazed all around at the ruined state. It took her a full minute to remember what happened and she stumbled back down onto her bed, her face going from confused to petrified as she recalled.

_Great panting breaths escaped her as she zig-zagged with single-minded purpose, dodging and ducking behind trees away from their curses. __"Get her! Don't let that mudblood go free!" __..._

_Eager to quickly get out of the scary forest, Hermione broke out into a run for the tree line, very eager to just curl up into a ball underneath her Gryffindor comforter back in the dorms. In her haste, Hermione once again lost her footing on a tree root and roughly face planted into the dirt just at the tree line.__..._

_The next second, however, Hermione knew that something was up as the Pures all seemed to clench up, hissing breaths of air whistling through clenched teeth, long drawn out moans and groans all reaching her ears from where she was crouched completely frozen leaning against a tree.__..._

_At that point, everything happened pretty quickly as Hermione continued to watch this time with horror as the Pures that were once human before her were now all something else entirely._

_They were monsters__..._

_A tense moment followed in which it felt like, to Hermione, the entire world slipped away and it was just her completely vulnerable in the eyes of a predator as it took one ominous deep breath of air. Immediately, the instinctual fight or flight response tapped in Hermione and a second later, without a conscientious thought, Hermione was up and taking off through the trees._

Reaching up to her empty neck, Hermione choked out a sob, cursing her unlucky fate in life. Desperately, Hermione reached out for her wand on the bedside table beside her.

"_Accio_ Locket!" she cried, begging to heaven that it would work.

"Urgh!" she screamed with frustrated tears ten minutes later when nothing happened, hazardously plopping down onto her bed and cradling her head in her hands.

The signal for the start of classes was the only thing that stopped Hermione from having a serious break down. She was extremely tempted to skip classes for the day and dare to go out to the forest and look for her locket there. She couldn't, no wouldn't, miss her classes though, her mother's words ringing in her ears and springing her into action.

_"I have to admit Hermione," her mother spoke, her long fingers moving swiftly, but soothingly, through Hermione's hair as they laid on the couch watching telly. "I'm honestly surprised that you such a genius!" __Hermione's brow furrowed even as her mouth formed a little smile._

_"What do you mean?" she asked her mother, lifting her head from her mother's lap to gaze at her curiously. Her mum shifted a little, rubbing the back of her neck slightly with embarrassment._

_"Well, I never told you this but...I was never any good in school when I was a kid...I almost didn't even finish college!" Her mother confessed making Hermione's eyes go wide as she quickly sat up._

_"What?" she cried with surprised amusement as her mother gave an embarrassed shrug._

_"I know, quite the rebel right? It was only because I wanted to help your grandparents with their pub since they were really hurting at the time... but then I met your dad!" she said, her gaze going far away with a wistful smile on her face._

_"What happened?" Hermione asked, now completely engrossed as her mother returned to her._

_"Love Hermione. I fell in love with your father and was so determined to do everything I could to be around him and that meant finishing college and then going to uni...I still can't believe sometimes how I even managed to do it. Your grandparents couldn't afford to send me to uni so I had to get all the expenses myself but since I had just been cruising before since I thought I would drop out I didn't have grades good enough for a scholarship..."_

_"So how did you do it mum?" Hermione asked as her mum smiled at her._

_"I worked my arse off, that's how. I studied like never before to get into A-level classes and worked after college at different jobs but mostly the Pub. When I finally graduated I did well enough to get into uni with your father and from there I worked my but off in the classes we took together."_

_"But doesn't that mean that you just followed after dad? Didn't you want to do something else with your life besides being a dentist?" Hermione asked as her mother smiled and ruffled her unruly hair._

_"Always the practical one," her mum said affectionately before she sighed. "You know, before I fell in love with your dad and I thought I would live the rest of my life at the pub, I dreamed of running away and becoming a professional piano player..."_

_"A piano player?" Hermione repeated incredulously._

_"Yes, a piano player..." she said, tickling her sides and making them both giggle. "But truthfully nothing was more rewarding being inspired by my love for your dad and actually achieving something I never thought I would...an education." she replied sobering up Hermione._

_"It's why this," her mum continued, reaching out to grasp Hermione's pendant, lovingly running a finger over the engraved words. "__Amor Vincit Omnia is so important Hermione. If you love fully, without fear everything you do takes a new meaning, it can change lives...yours and anyone else whose touched by your love."_

Hermione snapped out of her reverie as she finally scrambled into her classroom just in time. She quickly sat down next to Dean who saved her a spot at his table with Seamus Finnigan, a loud and rambunctious Irish boy.

"What took you so long?" Dean asked her curiously when she thumped down next to him, her heavy bag hitting the floor with a loud thwack.

"I over slept." Hermione responded nonchalantly as she pulled out her text books, purposely ignoring the disbelieving look Dean shot her.

"You don't over sleep, Hermione." he responded narrowing his eyes at her.

"Well I did today." she replied shortly without looking up from her text she was flipping through.

"Hermione, if this is about what those wenches did yesterday-" Dean started as Hermione sighed and finally turned to him.

"It's got nothing to do with those girls Dean! I over slept that's all." Hermione said in a that's final tone that raised Deans eyebrows.

"Alright fine, if you say so." he responded with a shrug.

"Yes, I say so." she mumbled turning to the front of the room as the Professor came in.

The hairs on the back of her neck started to stand on end as the lecture commenced. Glancing around Hermione tried to find the source before she stilled, startled to find Draco, Harry and Blaise all sitting in the row next to their table on Seamus's side.

Heart thudding wildly in her ears, Hermione swung her head back to the front of the class room with such speed, her neck cracked. She couldn't believe she had forgotten even for a moment that some of the Pures were in her class. In fact, she had at least one Pure in all of her classes. Hermione clenched her jaw even as her hands started to tremble.

Taking steeling breath Hermione glanced at the three again through her hair, assessing their appearance. Draco sat with one arm thrown over the back of his chair, the other tapping the desk lightly, his legs spread wide in front of him looking for all intent purposes like a lazy prince. His head was tilted back slightly, his blond locks falling perfectly around his face, and his grey eyes were staring dully at the skeletal of a small dragon that hung above them all in the DADA classroom. The irony didn't go pass her as she mused that this dragon above them was nowhere near as big as the one Draco transformed into last night.

Blaise, looking positively bored beside him, sat in a similarly arrogant manner; holding his head up with the tips of his fingers at his temple with one hand and other arm strewn out on top of the desk, his foot tapping the floor impatiently. Periodically, his tongue would sweep out and lick his plump lips and Hermione's mind couldn't help but flash to that enormous Basilisk, thinking of how it's long forked tongue would flick out to taste the air.

In comparison to his mates, Harry looked almost humble in his sitting stance. Leaning over his elbows on the desk, he sat slightly hunched, his eyes staring unseeingly in front of him; he was perfectly still without twitch of movement and the pensive look on his face was intensive even from a distance. She wondered what he was thinking about that made him so still...so consuming. It didn't even look like he was breathing.

A knock at the classroom door pulled Hermione along with everyone else in the classroom from their musings. Pausing his lecture, Hermione almost missed the small sigh that escaped her DADA Professor Lupin with the interruption. Curiously, Hermione saw the Professor shoot a quick glance at the notorious Pures and Hermione couldn't help but follow the look. The Pures shockingly were already standing up and it was only then that Hermione realized that none of them had even brought book bags. For some reason this sparked a slit bit of anger in her for the obvious dismal of learning as if it was beyond them to write notes in class or crack open a book.

"Come in." Professor Lupin called to the door, as the three Pures weaved their way towards the doors, the eyes of everyone watching reverently as they passed.

The door opened and there stood Professor, no, _Coach,_ Black, as he makes everyone call him, smirking leaning on the door frame. Irritation immediately sparked in Hermione at the sight of him. Although he was only a flying instructor to the first years, Hermione just couldn't stand his unprofessional-ism in regards to the way he held himself around the students. He was always cracking inappropriate jokes and flirty with the seventh years girls, of course nothing to foul but enough to have a fan group dropping at his feet because of course he was bloody gorgeous. He also always hung around the Pures; the favoritism he held for the beautiful crew blatant during Quidditch matches and in the Great Hall for meals. She hated that damn cocky grin he always carried too, maybe because it was the same grin he wore when he forcibly made her ride on a broom with him in front of the entire classroom in her first year, sufficiently scarring her for life.

"Moony," Profe-_Coach_ Black greeted with a nod of his head as the Pures came up to him with considerably less passivity on their face, definitely even with-dare she say it- _fondness_.

Professor Lupin gave a long-suffering sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose at Coach Black's strange endearment that he's been calling him since long before Hermione got to Hogwarts.

"Honestly," Professor Lupin said shaking his head as Coach Black's smirk deepened, even the Pures cracked slight smiles. "at least call me Professor Moony if you insist on that blasted name...anyway, go on and get already, your disrupting my class." Professor Lupin ordered making Coach Black pout dramatically (Hermione could just hear the hearts of her female classmates throbbing) before he flashed a smirk.

"Alrighty _Moony._ I'll be seeing you later." he said with a purposefully smoldering look that had everyone including Professor Lupin blushing a little. The defense against the dark arts professor slammed the door in his face so fast, Hermione didn't even see him move his wand. The barking laugh of his comrade sounded even through the thick door as the Professor cleared his throat and called for attention.

"Right, sorry for that. You all know by know that Black suffers from that pestering case of a bad sense of humor so we won't waste another minute on what he just said. Now, where was it that I left off..."

Hermione rolled her eyes at the snickering Seamus on Dean's opposite side and raised her hand to remind Professor Lupin where they were at. After that the class went by smoothly and time flew quickly in her other classes. It soon came to her attention that her fear of having to see the Pures was unfounded since they had all seemed to disappear from classes. By lunch time the rest of the students were all gossiping about how all the Pures were pulled out of classes and wondered where they had all gone to since it was so rare for them to all leave at once. Hermione didn't care though, so long as they were far away from her.

What she did care about, what she just could not get out of her head about the Pures was what she had seen last night. If it wasn't for her lost necklace than Hermione would spend the time after classes scouring the library for any answers. Instead though, when the classes ended, Hermione trekked back to the location of her most recent nightmares, the forbidden forest. She would be happy to never step a toe in the wretched forest again after yesterday but unfortunately her locket was most likely hanging off a tree branch some where and she would be damned if she wouldn't check each one to find it. She could only hope that she wouldn't be found out for coming back here, or worse, that the Pures weren't lurking somewhere waiting to change into those creatures again.

* * *

Little did Hermione know that all the Pures were in fact there with her with the addition of four more figures. They all watched from a distance moving silently and swiftly with the grace and agility unnatural to humans.

Severus Snape watched the know-it-all bookworm with the keenest eyes, the necklace the girl was searching so desperately for dangling in his fingertips. He knew like all the Professor in Hogwarts that the girl was a genius. Her ability to retain even the most minute detail from the texts was impressive even to him even if she lacked the originality and creativity to think outside of the box, or rather, the texts. However, other than her brains, Hermione Granger registered very little to most and was an outcast.

Strangely, it was this fact that would save her.

Behind him, Pansy let out a cruel snort when the object of their observations tripped and fell quite spectacularly into the dirt making Severus turn and fix her with a glare. Scowling Pansy shut her mouth but the quiet was once again interrupted by a frustrated sigh from Draco.

"What?" the boy asked roughly at the look his Professor threw at him. "I'm bloody tired of this already! How much longer are we going to watch this mudblood? We already know that it was her since the moment she stepped a foot in here looking for that pathetic bit of jewelry. I don't get why we haven't just obliviated the girl and called it a day by now. It's completely ridicul-"

"Enough," Severus interrupted, his cold voice slicing through Draco's complaining. "Voldemort has ordered that we watch the girl for a couple of days to see if she will talk and if she does then we can obliviate her."

"And if she doesn't?" Harry asked curiously, not tearing his gaze away from the stumbling hazardous girl and the determined expression on her face.

Severus didn't respond for a minute as he watched her too. His look was discernible to the others around him, even the other adults, Tonks, Remus and Sirius.

"If she doesn't talk or behave any differently then Voldemort ordered that we make her take an unbreakable vow of secrecy; we're done with her after that." he said waiting. He was not disappoint when a heart beat later the outburst came.

"You've got be kidding, right?"

"What do you mean 'we're done with her after that'?"

"How are we just going to let her carry on knowing our secret?"

"But she's a mudblood! An annoying know-it-all one at that!"

"No body but close family members even know what we are, how are we all the sudden gonna let that girl run around with this kind of knowledge?"

"Enough!" Severus bellowed for a second time in his rarely used loud voice, "If it's what Voldemort wants then who are we to question it? His reasons for this are his own and I don't want to hear another word about it."

Sheepishly everyone stopped their pestering and turned back to evaluating the increasingly frustrated witch still frantically searching. Severus turned back to the girl as well and, certain that everyone was distracted, let an extremely rare smile grace his face for reasons only known to himself...and Albus Dumbledore.

* * *

Like a statue, Hermione stood in the fading light of the sun, eyes sweeping desperately at all the nature around her. Her time was unfortunately up, hours spent relentlessly looking for the only connection she had left to her deceased parents to come out empty handed.

It was just plain sad.

A tear trickled down her cheek but she made no move to swipe it away. She just felt so hollow, so tired and defeated. She wanted to cry and sob and beg for her mum back, to see her father one more time.

Hermione sucked in a shaky breath; those were dangerous thoughts...weak. Her mother taught her better than that and would probably smack the back of her head for her ungrateful attitude.

_"What is with this weepy attitude? Don't you have your whole life ahead of you? Aren't you only, like, a genius and a witch to boot? You shouldn't be moping about the past when there's so much to look forward to in the future! You should be making plans to rule the world! No really kid, I'm being serious. If you keep on looking back than you can never move ahead. If you feel miserable and stuck then just realize that it's your own fault! Only you can say, you know what, enough of this shit! and focus on what's really important...not wasting the life you've got. Don't let yourself be your own worst enemy, got it?"_

Taking a deep breath, Hermione closed her eyes and focused. A gentle breeze danced along her skin, wafting up her hair to tickle her face and just like that she was transported.

_Standing in the lush green scenery of rolling hills and arces of tall dancing grains that was her own backyard, Hermione basked in the beauty of the home she created, her kids rolling down the hill, their playful laughter reaching her ears. Smiling at the sound, Hermione sighed contentedly when suddenly pale freckled arms, muscular and masculine wrapped around her waist. Her smile turned coy as she leaned back against the broad chest behind her, feeling her heart thump at the safe feeling of his embrace._

_And it was in this beautiful moment that Hermione suddenly remembered the lost broken feeling of searching desperately for that last piece of her parents. Of being dirty and alone in a huge dark forest like a modern-day Sleeping Beauty._

_Looking down at that same locket, Hermione smiled and ran a finger down the engraved words Amor Vincit Omnia, proud at how far she had come from that black place._

_"Rose, love. Come here! I've got a gift for you!"_

Opening her eyes, a wistful smile on her lips, Hermione sighed to herself and gave one more fleeting glance around her surroundings. With the light of day quickly fading Hermione marched back to the castle with not a trace of defeat in her. She would get her necklace back and once she did she wouldn't hurt herself anymore with silly self-deprecating thoughts. It would be an insult to the memories her mother and the lessons she had taught her.

Acting on her feelings, Hermione decided to momentarily forget the necklace and the Pures in favor of some research for her homework until dinner time. She even checked out a book to read while eating since she knew Dean wouldn't be sitting with her two nights in a row.

She chewed slowly as she read, tapping her wand to flip the page so as to not get greasy fingerprints on Madam Prince's precious books. Halfway through her meal, however, Hermione could feel a prickly sensation of being watched. At first she ignored the feeling, highly doubting that anyone would actually be staring at _her _the 'mudblood'. Yet that feeling persisted and unable to stand it any longer, Hermione raised her head and immediately sought out to see if it was Millicent staring at her as she plotted something cruel to do to her. Millicent however was not paying Hermione any mind as she stuffed her nasty face with food.

Confused and a little unnerved, Hermione continued to scan the hall subtly while she ate, only to find her peers eating and talking among each other, not a one looking at her. Maybe she was just becoming paranoid...she did have a rough week...

Shrugging it off, Hermione turned back to her text and scarfed down the rest of her food. The feeling of being watched persisted though, even as she walked away from the hall and in breakfast the next morning. Even in the classrooms and in the library as she did her homework. The only time she didn't feel eyes on her was when she was in Gryffindor tower or in the forbidden forest looking for her necklace.

She thought by the fifth day that she was perhaps going a little barmy but refused to let her tormentor, whomever it may be, know they were getting to her. She kept walking through the halls with a straight spine, an arrogant little tilt to her head with her books braced like a shield in her arms. She met everyone's eyes and continued to answer questions in class.

It was Dean who finally shed some light on the situation.

"Hey, why have the Pures been eyeing you in the great hall lately?"

Snapping her head up from her notes, Hermione gazed up at Dean's brown eyes with shock and disbelief.

"What?" she asked shrilly as he gave her a funny look.

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed! Their the Pures for gods sake Hermione! I know you like school work but really Hermione-" he started before she cut him off.

"But that's it, isn't it? Why in the world would I think the Pures of all people would eye me? I knew something was strange!" she said, her eyes falling to the table as her thoughts whirled around her head. "But what could that mean...unless," she gasped, her eyes going wide as they flew across the room to where Ronald Weasley, Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson were sitting.

Panic made her head spin as she gazed with revelation at the back of their shiny heads. _Unless they know I was there!_ She finished in her mind, her heart thudding in her chest, her palms becoming sweaty.

"Er, Hermione?" Dean asked making her gaze back to him.

"Oh, sorry Dean I, er... I have no idea why they would be looking at me." she stuttered, her fingers digging into her book nervously. "Anyway, we should get back to work. I've still got to finish some Ancient Runes translations and start and my essay for potions and I still have no idea what I'm even going to write it on! I was thinking of doing it possibly on the draught of living death but I was wondering if that might be too challenging for me-"

"Merlin, that's quite a lot. I'll just let you get to it then." Dean interrupted before gazing back at his own paper.

Relieved that she drew his attention away, Hermione peeked a glance back at the Pures and literally feel her eyes popping when she saw Draco Malfoy smirking back at her. Immediately her eyes flashed back to that massive black dragon, its scales not even reflecting the light of the moon, those silver eyes with narrowed pupils so huge and consuming.

Trembling she quickly averted her eyes and let her hair fall into her face. She was practically panting with fear as the weight of his gaze settled on her. She knew that all the Pures had been listening to the conversation and the fact that they were watching out for her was quite unnerving.

She wondered just what they were watching out for? For her to slip up and spill their secret? For her to demand some sort of deal in exchange for silence? Of course she would do none of that; she wanted nothing more than to leave the whole fiasco in the past. It nibbled on her pride that they would even think she would stoop to those levels. Then again they did not know her, her sense of righteousness.

She supposed she would just up and confront them about it, set it straight right off the bat that she had no intentions to do anything with her new-found knowledge. She couldn't help but question, however, why the Pure's hadn't already came up to her about it. Maybe they had just figured it out that it was her? But no, she had felt the burn of their eyes on her for almost an entire week already. It was more than that. Either way though, she was going to confront them.

Steeling her nerves, Hermione raised her eyes again to them, meeting, not Draco's eyes as she expected, but Ronald Weasley's. She froze for a moment at the clear blueness of his eyes... like electric blue sparks and entirely too beautiful to look at for too long. So glancing down, Hermione collected a calming breath and then raised her eyes back up to his before tilting her head back towards the door. He gave one nod of understanding and that was all Hermione needed to spring up from her chair, shocking Dean.

"I'm going to the loo." she announced with more gusto than necessary, making Dean give her that look as if she was the oddest thing he'd ever seen again.

"Right, go along then." he said as Hermione bent down and collected her things "and you don't have to announce those kinds of things next time, okay?"

"Sure, sure." she responded with a wave before she headed out to the doors without a backward glance.

She nervously waited in an empty corridor by a strange tapestry of a fat man snoring with a tub of wine in his lax fingers. She habitually raised her hand to her empty neck as she paced fitfully back and forth. Her instincts told her that waiting to let the Pures know that she was not a devious sort of person who would take advantage of what she saw was the best course and yet, her mind begged her to run away, to think more about what she was going to say and plan out just how when and where they should talk about this.

She had no time to second guess herself because the next second the Pures were all heading her way. She gulped at their impressive forms, her mind automatically flashing back to their naked flesh in the light of the moon making her blush.

Clearing her throat she waited for them to step up to her, each and every single one of them at least a head taller than her, with Ron towering almost two above. Draco was smirking at her of course, his eyes unfriendly but at least not vicious like Pansy as she glowered down at her, her light eyes narrowed and arms crossed. Harry stared at her behind his glasses with green eyes still so brilliantly bright even behind the frames, his expression though was not of arrogant mockery but curiousness. It was Ron Weasley's face, though, that made her startled because she just didn't understand it. His head tilted down so his fringe slightly covered his eyes, he gazed at her with nothing but it wasn't a blankness directed at her but at something else...possibly just everything.

"So, little know-it-all mudblood. We meet at last." Draco said, bringing Hermione back from her musings. The usage of mudblood made her straighten her spine and narrow her eyes, her arms defensively crossed in front of her.

"And with that one sentence your proving to be just charming, _Pure_." she spat sarcastically as Draco raised his eyebrows, his face turning curiously impressed for a moment before going back to that smirk. She supposed it was because she not only could form sentences in his presence but seemed unaffected by the knowledge that he could turn into a dragon and rip her to shreds. Next to him Pansy hissed and made as if to step to her but Draco simply held an arm out to stop her movement.

"Be careful the way you speak to me, mudblood. It would do well for you to remember why we're even speaking." he warned, his eyes flicking over to Pansy who smiled unpleasantly with malicious promise at her. Squaring her shoulders, Hermione eyed them both and did not relinquish her glare.

"Stop it, that's enough Malfoy." Harry suddenly interrupted, his voice sounding tired as he stepped up in front of Hermione, locking onto her startled gaze. "You're missing something, aren't you Granger?" he asked making Hermione's eyes go wide and immediately fly to her bare neck. Harry smiled at her knowingly with sympathetic eyes.

"How did you-?" she started but a rustling sound drew her attention back to Ron as he pulled out her golden locket from under his shirt. She gasped at the sight of it, tears of relief springing to her eyes as she immediately stepped toward him. He hastily moved back away from her however, making her freeze with shock at his hasty almost panicked retreat but before she could even wonder about it, Draco stepped back up to her, his face smirking as he wiggled a finger at her.

"Ah ah ah. Not so fast little mudblood." he said condescendingly making Pansy laugh.

Anger flashed through her at his audacity and her immaturity and without care she easily brushed past him and stomped up to a shocked Weasley.

"How dare you! All of you, that is my necklace and I will have it back!" she shouted, whipping out her wand quickly and doing a fast _Accio_! The chain pulled dangerously around Weasley's neck but he quickly waved his own wand and said _Finite_! effectively making her necklace freeze and fall back onto his chest. She gaped at him for a minute as both Draco and Pansy laughed behind her. "Oh I can't believe this! Is that how you've blocked my spell! How rude! Just give me back my necklace already, it doesn't mean anything to you!" she hollered as Harry came up to her with a long-suffering sigh, running a hand through his messy jet black hair.

"I'm sorry Granger, but we can't do that just yet." he said making Hermione sputter.

"Can't do that just yet? It's _my_ necklace and if you don't give it back to me I'll go to the Headmaster and tell him that you lot have stolen it!" she cried, her hands on her hips.

"I wouldn't do that mudblood since it would be a complete waste of time." Draco drawled behind her, making her turn sharply on her heel to face him, as he arrogantly inspected his nails.

"Excuse me?" she said sharply as he raised his eyes and smirked at her again.

"It would be pointless to go to _Dumbledore_ since he wouldn't dare even raise a finger against us." he responded smugly as Hermione gaped at his beautiful annoying face.

"How dare you! Headmaster Dumbledore is a fair and gentle one and he would most certainly-" she started only to be interrupted by Parkinson's amused voice.

"No he wouldn't, mudblood. See, us, what did you call us again...oh right, Pures, we have an understanding with the old man. One he wouldn't likely break unless he wants the wrath of Voldemort-" she said taking slow steps with her long lean legs towards Hermione with a smirk on her painted lips.

"Enough Parkinson!" Harry yelled suddenly, his green eyes glaring harshly at Pany's as he butted into the conversation.

Feeling lost, Hermione could only glare at the lot of them as her thoughts whirled with the information that made no sense to her.

"What, don't yell at me Harry! It's not like she knows who we're talking about!" Pansy retorted hotly.

"Alright, alright! Just stop for a minute okay? This isn't what we're here to do." he said, turning back to her when he finished his sentence. "Look Granger, we have something that you want and you have knowledge we don't want you to have."

She eyed him in silence for a moment, debating on lying even when she knew it was useless. The need to deny burned in her though and she took a hard swallow to push it down.

"So what are you proposing?" she asked apprehensively as Harry flashed her a rare smile before turning very serious.

"A deal." he stated simply as Hermione huffed with impatience.

"What sort of deal? Be specific." she said making his lips curl upwards for a split second.

"You'll have to meet us back here after curfew to find out. Don't be late."


	3. What she Choose

Many thanks to my wonderful Beta, They'll Call Me Hopeless! And to your reviews!

* * *

The halls were dark, eerily so. She cast a _Lumos_! to see around her.

"Blasted girl! Turn off that light!" The grumpy awoken fat lady howled at her. Hermione jumped a foot into the air at the sudden screech, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Sorry!" Hermione epped, scurrying off before the portrait yelled at her further.

"What? What are you doing girl?"

"Lower that light!"

"It's past curfew, you know girl!"

"Get back to your bed!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Hermione continuously repeated as she traveled the halls to the many grumpy portraits.

_Ohhh! This is not a good idea Hermione! Not a good idea at all!_ Her mind screamed. Having never sneaked out past curfew before, Hermione was positively terrified that she was going to run into a professor at every turn. She didn't know how she could let those 'Pures' coerce her into coming out so late.

A sound punctured the dark halls ahead of her making Hermione squeak like a frightened mouse, jumping a foot in the air and holding her wand ahead of her with a clenched fist.

"A-are you there?" she whispered, raising her wand so the light could travel further down the hall, her frightened eyes wide as she tried to see but making no move closer. The 'Pures' had told her yesterday that one of them would come to help her to their meeting place and Hermione anxiously wondered who it was that they sent. It would be a lie if she said she wasn't hoping it was Potter, who seemed out of all of them the less hostile...she dreaded being alone with someone like Parkison or Malfoy who obviously had no qualms about showing her just what they felt about her. She warily waited for a response, thinking in her head that they probably would send one of them just to maybe get her to back out of whatever these deals would entail.

He melted out of the shadows soundlessly, his eyes peering out at her from beneath his red fringe. She watched his movements with a pounding heart as he stepped closer even though she was expecting him, or at least anyone of the 'Pure' she still was startled to see him. He looked like a ghost in the light of her wand, a scary ghost too in this unnervingly dark hallway with suddenly quiet portraits. Wordlessly, Hermione stood stock still with wide eyes as more details of his face came into her view with every step he took, getting closer to her than they had ever been their entire duration of Hogwarts.

Hermione immediately took note to how tall he really was, feeling completely towered over as he peered down at her a good head above. She had always known that he was tall but had never thought of how much taller he was from her and what it would feel like to be looking up at him as he looked down at her. It made her feel small, and not only in just stature. The next second though, Hermione could care less about his height as she finally saw his eyes in close proximity and bit back a gasp. His eyes were an intensive sapphire color the pupils dilated into cat like slits, so strangely beautiful on a human face.

He narrowed his eyes at her and it was only then that Hermione realized she was gaping at him with slightly parted lips she quickly snapped shut. Swallowing hard with a blushing face, Hermione averted her eyes, instead she watched his large freckled hand reach up to her. Lightly the tips of his fingers touched her forearm and applied pressure so she would lower her wand, the light following the movement, shrouding his face once again with darkness.

Wordlessly, he turned on his heel and moved back to where he came from. It took Hermione a moment before she started after him, running to catch up to his long legged strides. She burned with questions as she took turns she couldn't see, following the glint of his mane of red hair. Why did they have to meet so late at night? What were they going to do to her? Where was her necklace? Was he wearing it? Why had he even worn it in the first place?

Then even greater questions like, what happened to them? How was it possible that they could change into magical beasts? Why were they all in that clearing that night? How often did they change? Could they change at will? Where did they go when they weren't in class? Were there more like them?

And then further still, she questioned herself. Why was she even agreeing to this? Why had she stayed and watched them that night? Why hadn't she told anyone? Why did she even care that they could change in the first place? Why couldn't she just think of them as animagi? Why was she so curious about them? Why did she have this urge to speak with them? Why was she...why was there a part of her beneath the fear that was _excited_ for this meeting?

An impatient huff brought Hermione out of her musings, her eyes shooting up to look at the boy in front of her. She realized with embarrassment that they had reached whatever the destination was and that Ron Weasley was waiting for her to open the door before them. It was then that Hermione realized that she was in the normally empty hallway by the tapestry she had pondered over once when she was in her third year, where a wizard was trying to teach a bunch of trolls how to dance ballet.

"Where did this door come from?" she murmured, reaching out to touch the wood, her eyes flickering questioningly to the red head next to her. He of course, did not answer her but just huffed at her with annoyance before reaching around her and opening it.

"Right, then..." Hermione responded with a 'wow what a jerk' look on her face. She took the hint though and opened the door the rest of the way and took a step into the mysterious room.

They were all there, lounging about in a room that looked like a sort of common room filled with armchairs and couches and tables. A raw, nervous spike of fear hit her when all their eyes all at once shot to her, making her palms sweat and her heart pound. The 'Pures' all still wore that blank bored expressions on their faces but their were new additions to the group that Hermione didn't expect that were actually smiling.

Remus Lupin, her defense Professor, along with his long time mate Sirius, stood at the back of the large room with a short pink haired tan skinned woman Hermione did not recognize, and they all looked highly amused about something. Curiously, potions master and renowned healer, Severus Snape was there as well but Hermione had no idea why he would be...why any of the adults would be here for that matter.

Suddenly, Hermione was overcome with the possibility that something very huge was going on and she had just unknowingly jumped head first right into the snake pit. She wondered if there would even be a way to come back out from it without harm...

In a nervous habit, Hermione reached up a hand to clutch her necklace, only to touch her bare skin and it was that simple to remind her of why she was here...she needed to get back her necklace, so squaring up her shoulders Hermione marched into the room with tall Ron following after.

The click of the door shutting, sounded oh so very final to Hermione as she stood in the silence feeling the probing stares of their eyes on her but no one said a thing. She stewed there uncomfortably for what felt like ages but could have only been less than a minute. She was very relieved when Professor Snape finally spoke from the corner of the room he stood in.

"Miss Granger," he started, his dark eyes hitting her the hardest with its unblinking focus. "I think you know why you've been asked to meet us here tonight. You have some knowledge we don't want known and we've got your precious necklace that you obviously want back..."

"Yes," Hermione responded because she didn't think she could even manage to say anything more the way her lips were trembling.

"So we've made a proposition up for you," he continued as telling shifts of positions through out the room showed Hermione how uncomfortable the others were about this.

"Merlin, Snivellus, can we just get to the point so we can all go to bed? Cut the dramatics already!" Pro- _Coach_ Black interrupted rolling his grey eyes making the bone in Professor's Snape's jaw clench.

"I was getting to it you impatient ill-breed mutt!" her Professor hissed back callously.

"Why don't we start by asking her a few questions first." Professor Lupin cut it before an argument broke out. Hermione almost wished he didn't interrupt it since it was so slightly fascinating to watch the emotions brewing in the normally cold and despondent Professor Snape.

"Oh for Merlin's sake!" Pansy suddenly bellowed, abruptly standing from her seat beside Draco on one of the leather couches, and turning her narrowed eyes on Hermione with her arms crossed.

"Why didn't you open that fat mouth of yours, bookworm, and spill our secret to anybody?" she asked with such force, taking Hermione aback.

"Er, becau-"

"And why did you follow us like a creepy stalker to the clearing in the first place?" Draco piped up from his spot still seated, not even turning his head to fully look at her but glaring at her from the corner of his eye.

"I did not-!"

"How come you didn't even confront us about it afterwards either?" Ginny Weasley asked with a suspicious glare but a curious lit to her voice.

"Wha-"

"Or even agreed to meet us here? Do you plan to black mail us?" Cho chipped in as Hermione indignantly opened her mouth to retort.

"Okay, okay enough!" the tiny pixie lady spoke up, cutting Hermione off again. "This isn't an interrogation. You have to give her enough time to answer the question before you ask the next, alright?"

"Tonks is right, you guys know better than that." Snape said with a narrowed eyed gaze. The way he said it made Hermione think she was definitely missing something as everyone reluctantly calmed down, Pansy sitting back down and Ron moving from behind her to sit up on an end table in front of Hermione.

"Right, so lets do this like its business as usual." Harry Potter suddenly spoke as he stood up from where he was leaning against the wall beside Sirius and moving closer to her. Hermione watched his movements warily, feeling a shift in the atmosphere as everyone suddenly became expressionless again.

"First question first. Why were you spying on us that night?" he continued, his green eyes narrowed behind his glasses.

"I-I wasn't spying..." Hermione stuttered feeling nervous all over again as she shifted from foot to foot and crossed her arms defensively in front of her. "I was..." blushing, Hermione averted her eyes as she told the embarrassing truth, "I was chased into the forest by Millicent and her lot and when I got lost and used a point me spell it lead me to the clearing and that's when I saw..." she trailed off, still shamefully avoiding meeting anyones gaze, that is until Draco, Blaise, Pansy and Professor Black started laughing hysterically, Ginny and Cho giggling slightly as well even when Harry shot them a look.

_Just ignore it Hermione, don't get upset that they're laughing at your suffering...they're just ignorant, immature people...hardly worth two minutes of my time... _Tears still pooled in her eyes though, that she hastily rubbed away.

"Enough," Professor Snape cut in, glaring darkly at them for a good minute as they quieted down. "Harry continue."

"Okay," he said suddenly awkward, throwing Hermione a sympathetic look, "And why didn't you tell anyone afterwards? A teacher? Some friends? The headmaster?" he asked as Hermione glared at him with watery eyes.

"Because," she spat though the watery tone quelled her fierceness "I don't make it a point to ignorantly judge and I figured that there would be a reason why you guys were there, why you guys can...become what you guys can become and I figured it wasn't my place to talk about it! Not until I had all the facts..." she said, glaring at the ones who laughed making Ginny and Cho look a little shame faced while Draco, Blaise and Pansy just smirked back at her. "Also, I figured that Professor Dumbledore already knew, as the rest of the staff since you guys do seem to often get special privileges."

At this everyone seemed to get peculiarly somber and uncomfortable much to Hermione's curiosity.

"Is that what it seems like to outsiders?" Luna Lovegood suddenly spoke up, her voice soft and yet strangely high pitched and very lofty. Hermione cocked her head at her.

"What do you mean-"

"Next question," Harry interrupted throwing a mollifying glare at the blonde who stared right back but shut her mouth. "Why didn't you confront one of us? Ask any questions or try to snoop around some more?"

Huffing, Hermione crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at his stupid question.

"I would hardly say it would be smart to go up to you all after finding out what you guys can turn into now would it? And quite frankly I wanted to just forget all about it and I would have since I was too busy trying to _find my necklace_." she spat heatedly, missing the glances that went subtly around the room at what she had unknowingly suggested.

"So then you didn't agree to meet us here in order to blackmail us with our secret?" Harry asked making Hermione throw him a 'honestly? do you think i'm thick?' sort of look.

"I came because I want my necklace back, that's all." Hermione responded her hand travelling again to her empty neck. It was Harry's turn to cock his head at her with curiosity.

"Right, you'll forgive us if its seems a little hard to believe that you would agree for a lousy necklace, Granger." Pansy spat immediately raising Hermione's ire.

"It is not just a lousy necklace, it's the only thing I have left of my parents, alright?" Hermione shouted, glaring fiercely at the girl who glared right back, though her eyes shot to Harry for a second.

"Alright Hermione," Harry spoke, his eyes filled with empathy as he looked at her, making Hermione gaze back at him confused, but still irritated.

"So does that mean you'll give me my necklace back?" she asked as he glanced questionably at Professor Lupin and Black.

"Yes, you get it back, kid." Professor Black spoke but Professor Snape cut him off.

"You may get back what is yours but we still need to decide what to do with you." he said, moving from his corner of the wall towards her, making Hermione gaze at him with apprehension and slight fear.

"What do you mean 'do with me'? This is a school and you can't-" Hermione started with outrage, to mask her mounting panic as he came up in front of her, placing a hand onto her wand.

"Relax, Miss Granger, " he said "besides it wouldn't be wise to draw your wand when your outnumbered twenty to one.

"Besides, the decision really lies with you, actually. You have two options you can take and both let you leave with your necklace. The first option is that you can agree to have your memories of that night and this night obliviated and you must leave Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry and be placed into a different Wizarding school of your choosing so there will be close to no risk that your memory can resurface or," he leaned in closer to her, the tips of his fingers meeting as he stared into her eyes with something she understood to be challenging.

"You can stay in Hogwarts, keep your memory but undergo an unbreakable vow of secrey and live with all of us until you are deemed trust worthy enough to walk around with the biggest secret the wizarding world has."

Stunned, Hermione stood in front of her Professor with her mouth agape and the horrific options placed in front of her.

"What!" she exploded outraged. "what kind of options are those? Do you honestly expect me to believe that you can just-"

"Believe it," he cut in, his voice dangerously low as he stared back at her, and Hermione could see in his eyes, she had no choice it was one of those two options or face something even much worse...

"Is that why you guys are here?" she asked, her eyes flickering to the other adults in the room. "because you guess wanted to stress how serious this is or-"

"No," Professor Lupin spoke, his voice grave as his eyes tried to convey his sympathy for her. "Sirius, Severus, Tonks and I are all like them," he said nodding his head to the 'Pures' as Hermione's eyes widened in understanding.

"And if you take the second option you'll be living in Grimmauld Place where we all stay so you would find out eventually, and if you take the first then this conversation wouldn't matter anyway..." The pixie pinked haired woman said with a shrug of her tiny shoulders.

"How many are they like you guys?" Hermione asked her eyes incredulous as she stared at them.

"Thirteen," Luna piped in making Hermione turn slightly to look at the whispy girl "Or at least there's supposed to be but Sevy isn't really like us anymore, he lost his Griffin a long time ago."

"Quiet Luna," Professor Snape bit out harshly making the girl gaze at the professor before shutting her mouth again.

Completely befuddled Hermione could only stand there like a gaping fish with at least a thousand question running through her mind.

"What did-" Hermione started only to be rudely cut off by Professor Snape.

"We won't answer anymore of your questions until you make a decision," he stated making Hermione glare at him.

"But Professor-!"

"This isn't a classroom lesson Miss. Granger. You don't get to take lecture notes or wave your hand in the air and get points for answering something right. You either agree to be obliviated or you take the unbreakable vow...what will it be?" he asked intensely.

Hermione could feel a well of panic shooting into her as her heart started pounding a mile a minute in her chest.

"May I ask something to do with my options?" she asked to which Professor Snape inclined his head every so slightly rather reluctantly. "If I take the second option how long would I have to live with you guys? What does until I'm trust worthy enough mean? What if I fail and you never deem me trust worthy enough? And if I take the first does that mean I can't live in England anymore or work in the Ministry of Magic? For how long? What other wizarding schools?-" Hermione mused started to pace as her questions continued to pile up.

"Alright, alright enough with your endless questions!" Snape suddenly cut in drawing her attention "If you take the first option you can never work in this Ministry, you can choose a school far away like Beauxbatons, The Salems Witch Institute...there's even one in Japan you could leave to! It would be for an indefinite amount of time just like if you choose the second option and decide for the unbreakable vow. You'd live with us all through the rest of your Hogwarts years, definitely and if you are incapable of being trust worthy then you will forever in Grimmauld Place." he said as Hermione's mid wheeled with the information.

"I just don't understand this..." Hermione murmured "How can those be my only choices. There has to be another way!"

"There is no other way Miss Granger!" Professor Snape hissed as Hermione started to tremble. "Either you can make this choice or we can make it for you." he threatened raising Hermione's panic further still.

"No! If those are my only options than I want to be the one to make it!" Hermione responded shortly to which the older man smirked.

"Then make it!"

"I choose..." Hermione trailed off biting her lip, her eyes roving around the room at the faces staring back at her. She just didn't know what to do... "I..."

"Oh come on Granger! Use your words! Aren't you programmed to answer a professor?" Draco suddenly bit out making Hermione's fists clench as she whirled around to glare at him.

"Yeah, where's that incessant know it all behavior now?" Pansy shot out infuriating Hermione.

"Easy for you to say! It's not your life being meddled with like a peon in a chess match!" Hermione said shrilly feeling angry hot tears forming in her eyes. "I need to think!"

"Your wrong, though. It will affect us all if you take the second option." Harry said, his stare penetrating but not unfriendly, just stating a fact. "You and I will be living together for one thing, since I live at Grimmauld too."

Frazzled and feeling very pressured, Hermione turned away from everyone in the room and faced the wall in front of her trying to think. She felt like she couldn't even breath; she had thought that nothing could stress her worse than her third year when she took all the classes Hogwarts had to offer but this was worse! This was a decision that would affect her future! It made her feel so small and unprepared and if there is anything Hermione hated it was being unprepared.

Gazing over her shoulder, Hermione glared at her Professor.

"Can I have my necklace?" she asked as the Professor rolled his eyes.

"I already told you you'll get it-"

"No, I mean right now, I need to hold it." Hermione cut in, satisfied that she could interrupt him after all the interruptions she had to go through. Sighing a long suffering sigh, Professor Snape nodded and waved his hand.

"Yes, yes, fine. Weasley!" he snapped making both Weasley's in the room glare. Ron stood up though and came to her, his tall gangly frame towering above them all.

His face was an unreadable mask as he looked at her, though his blue eyes never once wavered from her all night long...something Hermione had dimly noted during all this. She was curious why he was looking at her so fixedly but found she didn't mind the feel of his stare half as much as the others since there didn't seem to be anything unkind or suspicious there just observation.

He took off the necklace from around his neck as he came to her, holding it out for her to take with a freckled hand. Eagerly, she grabbed it and held it tight with both hands feeling the warmth of his body seep into hers.

"Why are you the one always wearing my necklace?" she asked curiously as his gaze flickered away from hers and he shrugged his broad shoulders.

"I'm the one who found it so it was my responsibility." he said, his voice surprisingly more confident than she thought it would be "plus you kept accio it so I constantly had to finite it..."

A spark of anger ignited in her at his words, remembering her desperate attempts at finding her necklace that they didn't have the decency to give back to her once they realized whom it belonged to. No, instead they were the ones who black mailed her with it! And then they had the gall to act suspiciously with her because she _didn't_ do anything!

_'Honestly, what audacity!' _she thought angrily, glaring down at her necklace and absentmindedly opening the locket. '_And what's worse is if I take the second option I'll be trapped with these people for who knows how long!'_

_'But,'_ she continued, her expression changing as she stroked the picture of her mum and dad '_I can't leave England! This is where mum and dad were raised, where they feel in love, where our memories are...This is my home! And I really hate the thought of someone messing with my mind, especially my memories... But can I live with them...?_

Raising her head, Hermione gazed at all the faces around her, most impatient like Draco, some bored like Professor Black, others, like Ron, just staring back at her... it wasn't very welcoming. Clenching her eyes, Hermione took a breath and knew her decision was made when she opened them.

"I'll take the unbreakable vow of secrecy." Hermione said, raising her head and squaring her shoulders as she placed her necklace back around her neck.

Professor Snape smiled for a span of half a heartbeat before he swooped over to her and started barking out orders.

"Come on, you know what to do," he said as everyone leaped into action, coming to crowd around her. Ron reached her first, taking her left hand with his left hand and everyone else followed suit after that so it looked fairly odd with all twelve of the people in the room clasping there hands on top of hers like it was some sort of huddle. Professor Snape stood the closest next to her, his wand touching the top of the pile of their hands.

A nervous flutter hit Hermione as she realized how final it was for her from here on out; it made her unable to look at all the faces swarming in front of her. She focused on all the hands on top of hers some pale, like Harry's and Pansy's, some freckled, like Ron and Ginny's, some tan like Blaise and Tonks...She concentrated on that as Professor Snape spoke.

"Will you Hermione, protect and never speak of the secret of all the wizarding families here; the Malfoy, Parkinson, Wealsey, Potter, Black, Zabini, Lupin, Tonks, Longbottom, Lovegood, Snape and Riddle?' he asked.

_Riddle?_ she thought but nodded her head nonetheless and nearly screamed as a vibrant red wired light shot out from the tip of his wand and trickled down through all of their hands.

"Yes,"

"And will you, for as long as it is deemed by Riddle or anyone of his approving, live with us at any of the families mentioned estates?"

"Y-yes." she stuttered out, her heart pounding as the light flared for a moment. _Who is Riddle?_

"And will you never speak of the secrets that surround these families that you may discover while living with them to any outsiders?" he continued surprising Hermione.

"Yes." she said as red wired light flared once more between all of their hands before it faded completely when Snape took his wand away.

"Then we are done here." he finished, leaning back away from her with, Hermione could only perceive as satisfaction in his eyes. "I've got to go and report right away." he announced, very abruptly turning and vanishing out the door without a backward glance.

Feeling shaken, Hermione retracted her hand and stepped back away from the ones she just irreversibly bonded herself to. Her eyes raised to gauge their expressions and found varied mixes of emotions staring back at her.

"Well wotcher Hermione! Welcome to the family!" The pink haired pixie like lady greeted with a smile, clumsily tripped over to her and holding out her tan hand for Hermione to shake. It didn't pass Hermione that Pansy was the one to trip her, as she glared daggers at Hermione rather intimidatingly, Draco scoffing next to her and mumbling.

"Thanks?" Hermione said questionably, reaching out and taking hold of hers as she shook their hands rather enthusiastically. Remus smiled and inclined his head slightly behind her as Sirius smirked and crossed his arms.

"Poor thing probably won't know what she got herself into." he said rather ominously with a mischievous glint in his eyes "Moving into a home filled predominately with men." Remus elbowed him in the side which knocked the smirk quickly off his face.

"Ow Moony!" he said rubbing his side as Remus smirked and Tonks, Harry and Luna laughed. "Shut it Nymphadora!"

"I keep telling you to stop calling me that." Tonks responded as Hermione watched with fascination as her pink hair turned a vibrant maroon color, missing the glare that Draco sent her as he stormed away and out the door with Pansy hot on his heels.

Luna surprised Hermione by reaching out her hand and placing it on Hermione's shoulder, her smile very ethereal as she gazed at Hermione.

"I for one am glad that you took the second option Hermione. I have always thought you had wonderful wrackspurths swarming around you and living in your hair." she said as Hermione cocked her head at her with confusion.

"Wrackspurths? But those aren't-" Hermione started but was cut off by Ginny.

"Leave it Granger, if your stuck with us then you better learn today that Luna can see things others can't." she said, swinging her long flaming hair over her shoulder and giving Hermione a wink.

"Alright, but-" her own yawn cut her off from speaking as she quickly covered her face and blinked her eyes feeling suddenly exhausted. "Oh, pardon me! That was terribly improper." She said but found that her yawn seemed to be contagious as Ron, Neville, Tonks and Ginny all yawned too.

"Well your not the only one then," Harry said appearing beside her suddenly with an amused expression. "We should all go to bed then."

"Yes, yes, off to bed with you children," Sirius said with a shooing wave ushering us all towards the door. "We grown ups need to discuss some things you youngsters are to young to hear, like bdsm and other nasty sex things...!" making Ginny laugh, Cho giggle and Ron blush as Harry shook his head and Neville just yawned again.

Frowning, Hermione glared back at the smirking man which made his smirk widen as he winked at her.

"Don't worry _Buttons_, in a few years you can give shoot me an owl and I promise I'll change your world-"

"Azkaban awaits you Sirius, really." Tonks said distastefully as Remus just shook his head and Hermione glared at him with a disgusted look which made him cackle.

"Should I-?" Harry started uncertainly changing the expression on Sirius face to a kind warm smile as he gazed at the boy and ruffled his hair.

"No Harry, you can sit this one out, you've had a long enough week." he said with surprising tenderness and a slightly morose look in his eyes.

"Okay," Harry responded, with a barely audible relief in his voice catching Hermione's curious eye before quickly looking away and following after Cho who was waiting at the door for him as the others had already left.

"I still have a lot of questions." Hermione stated making Professor Lupin smile and Sirius roll his eyes.

"I'm sure you do-"

"We can discuss them tomorrow after classes Hermione. You've been through a lot yourself this past week so I daresay you need to get as much sleep as you can now." Professor Lupin cut Sirius off with a pleasant smile as Hermione sighed and was about to argue when another yawn broke free.

"Alright, tomorrow then." she said reluctantly making his smile widen to which she returned with a small one of her own.

"Goodnight Hermione!" Tonks called as Hermione exited the room. Waving, Hermione closed the door and looked down the empty dark hallways, this time unafraid of casting a Lumos as she took strength from the necklace nestled by her chest.

It was only in the dark comfort of her room that Hermione was once again plagued with an anxious sort of feeling, questions zooming a hundred miles a minute in her head.

Who was Riddle? Why had she not hear of him? He couldn't be a part of the thirteen cursed since he wasn't present tonight and they had already said that Professor Snape had been one of the thirteen... Why was it that he wasn't any longer? What if a few years done the line she realized she had made the wrong decision? Would she be able to change her mind and ask to be obliviated? What if _they_ changed their minds and decided to obliviate _her_?

Questions upon questions upon questions but sleep eventually won; the last thought in Hermione's head,

_I can't believe I'll be living with Harry Potter!_


	4. What she knew to be changed forever

The sun peaked out through her bedroom curtains and hit her face. It left a warm gentle feeling on her cheek and Hermione couldn't help but bask in the early morning light as she slowly opened her eyes. Languishingly she looked at the time and realized that she still had a little more than an hour before she had to rise her normal early time.

Immediately, a heavy dreaded feeling weighed down in her chest...anxiousness for the coming day. It would not allow her to rest so she got up, did her daily routine shower and dressed. Knowing it was too early to eat at the Great Hall, Hermione decided to head to the library.

Each step she took echoed loudly in the corridor; the sun streamed as it peaked out from the horizon to light the halls in a soft glow. For Hermione, to have that early morning sanctum, that rare sort of peaceful serenity was a pleasure that made it worthwhile to be an early bird. She made it a point to always treasure them and use the time for a sort of reflection.

But not this morning. Instead she moved with a steadfast purpose with a lack of her usual leisure and came upon the library rather quickly. Of course it was empty when she got inside with no signs of any stray Ravenclaw coming to research at an ungodly hour like her. She easily moved to her destination with no fear of any prying eyes.

The restricted section was oddly colder in temperature than the rest of the library. Admittedly, Hermione had never dared to enter the restricted section in the past since she abhorred breaking rules...but that was before she knew the truth; no longer did she have those feelings, not after realizing the secret her teachers were involved in. She lost a part of her trust in them after last night. For instance, she didn't trust that they would tell her everything about what she just found herself irreparably bond to, so she was here to find those answers. She would not be caught unawares again.

She moved through the aisles picking up anything to do with blood curses and flicking through the index to see anything with relevance and only finding three promising books. She then moved to animal curses before she exited the restricted section all together and moved to the records section of the library, which showed public Magical documents of the ministry and took all the records of each Pure family. After that she went to the normal sections and with expertise found and gathered books on legendary magics throughout the ages.

Thinking these were a good enough start, Hermione and all her levitated tombs and documents made their way to the closest empty table. She immediately set to work on the books, using her wand to open all of them to the pages that mattered to her and then proceeded to use her wand to copy the chapters she found significant.

By this time the sun had risen higher in the sky so it shouldn't have come as a surprise to Hermione when the warning chime for first class sounded. Sighing, she separated the books she wanted to take and sent the other books into the bin for Madame Pince to put back and stuffed the records into her satchel. Her stomach growled at her for neglecting it in favor of research and Hermione shot it a pitying look as she took off for first class. Lucky for her, Defense was not too far from the library, unlucky for her it held most of the Pures.

She couldn't help but recall her strange night.

She walked so as to not be first to class and was relieved to see Dean and Seamus already seated. She froze for a second in surprise to see that Ronald Weasley and Neville Longbottom were already there as well in the seat in front of her table. She did not recall seeing the two boys in the last class and wondered if there sudden placement was a coincidence or really because of her.

Nervously tightening her grip on the books in her arms, Hermione straightened her spine and plopped down beside Dean, avoiding everyone's gaze as she set down her books from the library and let her bag clatter to the floor beside her feet. She knew that the Pure boys were watching her or at least as aware of her as she was to them and that made her feel very uncomfortable, especially at her disadvantage of not knowing all the facts.

"Hey Hermione." Dean greeted loftily. Still averting her eyes, Hermione mumbled a response and reached down into her bag for her text book. As she straightened, she couldn't help but let her eyes flick up to the other boys and nearly choked when she saw that both boys were turned in their seats towards their table.

Her eyes locked steadfast onto the clear baby blue eyes of Ronald Weasley who sat diagonal to her. Neville Longbottom sat in front of her an there was an empty seat in the middle of them; she couldn't tell if the empty seat was because they wanted someone to sit between them or because the two boys didn't want to sit next to each other...Hermione had a completely irrational nagging feeling that it was because of the latter.

As she mused this with her eyes still held by Ronalds, his eyes suddenly flicked down at the books in front of her and then back up again. She immediately caught on to what that meant, that he had seen the title of the books she had brought with her. She watched for his reaction and got one quickly when he slowly shook his head, his eyes conveying warning and disapproval.

A strangely rebellious side of Hermione wanted to stick out her tongue and humph like a two year old. Instead, she just stubbornly arched a brow with a glare and shoved the books inside her crammed satchel, not raising her eyes back up to his as she opened her text for the class open to the right page.

She knew as soon as the rest of the Pure boys entered the room by the furious whispering that sprouts whenever they first arrival. Usually she would completely tune out the annoying whispers of the daily blabbering girls saying the same whispers everyday of 'Merlin, shouldn't it be a crime for anyone to be so hot' and 'oh their so bloody gorgeous!' and Hermione's ultimate favorite 'By the founders! He just smiled at me! This is the happiest day of my life!' A truly pathetic diminishment on the female mentality in Hermione's opinion. It made her slightly grateful she didn't have any 'girlfriends' if that was what she would have to be reduced to for daily conversation.

With the revelation of yesterday, instead of just ignoring their pestering presence, Hermione tensed up, especially when she could hear them sitting down directly behind her. That wasn't all though, Pansy Parkinson and horrifyingly enough, Millicent Bulstrode saddled up in the table next to hers sufficiently boxing Hermione in entirely.

Gripping her text book, Hermione gazed unseeingly at the pages in front of her, letting her wild mane of hair shroud her face from Pansy's superior and unwavering stare. She felt every nerve ending stand on alert especially since it felt like whomever sat behind her was breathing down her neck. The feeling of everyone's eyes on hers too sparked some paranoia in her so much that the trembling in her hands were making her text book shake a little as well.

Dean cleared his throat uncomfortably next to her, making Hermione shift her eyes to glance at him. He was frowning, his brows pulled down as he gazed with an intensity down at his text book though his eyes took sneaking glances at the Pures with confusion, animosity, and slight wonderment. Hermione could relate.

She felt all too relieved to focus her attention on Professor Lupin; when he started the lecture she immediately dipped her quill and started taking notes. She didn't want to admit just how bothered she felt and let the Pure know they were getting to her.

But as the day progressed and Hermione found herself entrapped by the Pures, little by little, her anxious feeling averted to irritation which lead to anger and that Hermione never could hide well. So when lunch came Hermione impatiently stomped after the Pures who were the first to leave class but always one of the last few to arrive.

Clutching her books, her hair flopping behind her and brisk loud steps Hermione in all her bookish, bushy haired glory marched right on ahead in front of the Pures before turning sharply on her heel to face them.

If anyone would have happened to take a picture of that moment, it would have seemed impressive. The blazing look of determination as Hermione opened her mouth to square of with the ultimate 'arrogant cool kids' while completely outnumbered. Like a cover for an old western movie with one cowboy about to have a showdown against twenty...Unfortunately, there would be no showdown as the Pure's didn't even spare her a glance as they maneuvered around her, Pany and Draco making it a point to slam into her shoulders.

She gaped at their blatant rudeness but paused as the last of the group walked up to her. As he stood up in front of her, she couldn't help but be reminded of his height. She, herself, reached to a whopping 5'5 and had to cram her head back to look at his face. His blue eyes met hers and in that briefest of seconds, it was like they shared an entire conversation.

Of course, his shoulders were slightly hunched, and he peered at her from underneath the fringe of his hair. As always there was something guarded about his blue eyes but for once it seemed like he was really looking at her, sizing her up and examining her as if she was the oddest thing he'd ever seen. She met his stare with open curiosity not only as to why he had been watching her in the first place but also why it seemed that there off about him...something mysterious.

They stayed watching each other as he continued towards her, his shoulder brushing against her's as he walked passed. She turned and kept watching him even when he finally looked away followed behind the rest of the group.

Her mind raced as she pondered the tall boy. He, to her, seemed to be the most enigmatic out of the Pures. She sensed that behind his silence was a strong presence he locked away for reason's she didn't know. Her insatiable know it all needed answers and she assured herself that she would find out eventually.

A second later she pouted to herself, angered that she let her mind wander so much that she missed her chance to properly have a row with the Pures. She knew that the Pures didn't go to the Great Hall to eat during lunch but went off somewhere until class. Sighing, Hermione went to the Great Hall, unable to ignore her rumbling stomach any longer.

She stomped to the hall, grumbling all the way at the insufferable behavior of what she would now refer to as 'that lot'. Her ire melted away when in the second she opened the Great Hall doors the eyes of her all peers fixed blankly on her, conversation ceasing entirely. Slowly, as if trudging through water, Hermione made her way to the table, bemused at the glares and whispers of her fellow peers. She had just sat down when obnoxious laughter sounded. Hermione followed the sound till she reached the Slytherin table and saw that most of the people from that house were looking and laughing directly at her. She blushed and immediately averted her eyes, a panicked feeling slithering over her as she made sure she still was wearing clothes and nothing was on her face.

She stiffened as she heard steps behind her, knowing that whomever was approaching was up to no good. Reflexively, she grabbed her wand and tensed, preparing for a battle.

"Well, well, well," Millicent drawled as she plopped down besides her, the rest of her croonies coming to surround her on all sides. Hermione slowly closed her eyes with dread. "You've got more guts than I thought you did, mudblood. Daring to even show your face after your...stint..." Millicent said, nastily playing with a curl of her hair condescendingly. Hermione swatted her hand away angrily, glaring at the bigger girl as her friends laughed.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione couldn't help but ask as Millicent smirked at her.

"Oh, come off it mudblood! Everyone already knows what you've done, not like anyone is stupid enough to believe any excuse you try to give considering what you are and..." she trailed her eyes down Hermione's body, making Hermione scoff in disgust and gave her a pitying look "how you look."

"I won't ask you again Bulstrode! What are you going on about?" Hermione asked sharply, standing up to put some distance between her and her croonies that laughed at her haste.

"What is this? Surely, you jest..." Daphene asked mockingly making Hermione's face turn red with her ire.

"No I'm obviously not since I'm actually asking you daft lot a question!" Hermione spat.

She had expected a row with her answer not Millicent blinking up at her and giving a cruel laugh of realization, "This is brilliant, you really don't know! Well let me enlighten _you_, mudblood... Your little play with Amortentia has been found out! Of course, it's to be expected that someone with your upbringing would try that with any pureblood but to think you were stupid enough to try that on one of the _Pures_! It's disgusting to even think that you were using it so you could get pregnant! As if anyone would want to have sex with you! That's why you had to resort to the potion in the first, so pathetic! Merlin, your even more worthless than I thought!"

They laughed cruelly at her as Hermione felt her entire body freeze up with horror at what they were implying.

"Of course, everybody hates you now-" Flora piped in with a pleased smile, her eyes hungry for Hermione's suffering.

"But really, what did you expect trying to use such underhanded way to trap a pureblooded man?" Hestia finished with a pompous giggle.

"Besides, even if you did manage to get away with it, it wouldn't have helped you anyway since you will always be nothing but a lowly pathetic mudblood!"

"It really is the quiet one's you have to watch out for..."

"Trying to steal our pureblooded men! Greedy, dirty thing to do, just like a mudblood..."

"NO! You're wrong!" Hermione bellowed, "I would NEVER do that! That is just so so..._conniving_-" she stopped suddenly, revelation slamming into her.

_It was them... They did this! _Hermione thought with astounded revelation, anger pounding in her veins. She immediately turned on her feet and marched away to search all around so she confront the Pures. Hex them till they resembled a mound of fungus! How dare they! Why would they! She had already agreed to keep her mouth shut so why start such a...a, foul rumor?

_To scare you. To ensure you know just what they could do to you; they are Purebloods after all..._

Caught up in her epiphany, she didn't even see it coming. The force of the hex knocked her off her feet and sent her crashing to the floor; boils bloomed all over her skin and Hermione cried out in agony as some erupted. Malicious laughter erupted from around the hall as her teeth grew at an alarming rate past her jaw and horns sprouted from her head. Hermione started to stand as another curse hit her that sent her staggering, her skirt pulling upwards as a long ugly tail grew from just above her butt.

Tears streamed down her face as their laughter taunted her mercilessly.

"MUDBLOOD FREAK!" someone shouted out as suddenly it seemed everyone was pointing at her and crying out 'Mudblood Slut!"

Astounded, Hermione could only gap like a fish out of water from her spot on the floor. Her horrified eyes staring at those laughing with elated delight with cruel glints in their condescending eyes. Most of them were Slytherin's, relishing in a mudblood's misfortune, but there were plenty of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuffs and Gryfinndor's joining in. Other's just looked uncomfortable and nervous as they forced laughter, or just sat playing with their food; few like Dean looked furious but no one did anything.

And then they started throwing food at her.

She just couldn't believe it... that so many could be so cruel. That no one, not even from her own house would try to defend her, to help her out. Distantly she was aware that some of the professors whom actually came down to the Great Hall for lunch, were bellowing for order and looking stark mad at this behavior but there effort were futile. Their shouts of 'mudblood' seemed to get louder and louder, their callous eyes growing larger with delight at her misfortune and pain as she was plummeted with food.

A frenzy feeling took over Hermione and she knew she needed to get out of their now! She ran the last few steps for the doors, nearly slipping on the mess and had just reached them when they opened unexpectedly, making her fall back down on her bum. Time seemed to slow as she raised her head and saw who stood before her.

He stood tall over her, his green eyes blank as he took her in, from the top of her horned head down to her dirty trainers. She stopped breathing as his eyes met hers, just waiting for the hurt of his cruel laughter, his glee at her despair but she received none of that as his eyes drilled into hers. And then he did something completely unexpected...

He extended his hand.

Hermione stared at it for a moment, completely beyond rational thought as she wondered just what he was doing. Movement behind him made Hermione glance up again to see the tall frame of Ronald Weasley behind him.

For once that blank look on his face was gone, replaced with a scowl and fury in his eyes that sent a chill through her. What in the world could have gotten him so mad?

All thought left her when he and Harry squatted down before her, Ron reaching out to grab her right arm and Harry grabbing her left.

Together the two boys lifted her off the floor, standing her up between them.

She stared down at the floor for a second, trying to make sense of their actions, an indescribable feeling in her chest as both boys let go of her arms. She couldn't explain it but she felt like something had just irrevocably changed in that moment though she wasn't quite sure yet what.

And then the world came rushing back, the pain from the boils making her hiss and the overwhelming silence that hovered in the hall. She chanced a look at the two boys on either side of her and saw them staring back at the Great Hall, intense expressions on both of their faces as they stared at the people, as if accusing and berating each person individually.

Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a small smooth hand slide into her own. Turning, her wide eyes met the kind baby blue eyes of Luna Lovegood who smiled at her with that gentle yet vacant sort of smile.

"Come one, Hermione," Luna beckoned in such a way that Hermione couldn't help but follow, like some sort of wounded puppy. She felt dazed as they walked, glancing back at the Great Hall doors as they closed with a resound thunk. She almost didn't want to go when she saw that Harry and Ron were not following behind her. She didn't question the feeling, didn't analyze it, just let herself feel it. Why did they do that? Why did they help her up back there? Why did it look like they were defending her with their presence back there?

When she turned back around, Hermione was surprised to see Luna staring intensely back at her, still holding her hand. Immediately a hundred more questions spurned in her; it must of showed on her face cause the next second Luna was smiling as she shook her head.

"We came to the Great Hall because we were ordered that we have to make your subconscious aware that we are watching you for any slip ups. Though, I tried telling them that I already know you won't have any. You're a wonderful person Hermione; one of my favorites and I know you'll make splendid friends with us, especially Harry and Ron. I am so happy that you were chosen to find out our secret." Luna said in that wispy lit voice of hers.

Hermione frowned in confusion as she took in the girls strange way of speaking.

"What do you mean chosen to find out your secret?" A suspicious feeling started to rise in Hermione though it dissipated entirely with Luna's response.

"Yes, you were chosen because of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack! They gather in your hair and can read the goodness of your heart so they chose you." she said with such seriousness Hermione could only gape at her.

"But there is no such thing as a Crumple-Horned Snorkack." Hermione said immediately as Luna nodded fervently.

"Yes, there is. There are many eye-witness accounts. They're prone to stick by people with kind hearts that like to eat Cornish Pastries so I'm sure that one day soon I'll see one. When I do, I'll make sure to tell you okay? But if you manage to see one before me than you absolutely must come and get me no matter what, alright?"

"Alright," she said slowly, realizing that she would have to tread differently than she normally would with this one. "And why would the Crumple-Horned Snorkack want me to know your secret?"

Squeezing her hand gently, Luna gave pleased laugh.

"Because of the curse, of course!" Luna said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Now, come, you're in pain."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest, wanting more answers but could not deny that Luna was right. She was in pain, and she looked and smelled ghastly so she didn't want to force Luna to talk to her.

A surreal feeling settled over her, as if she was in a dream and sure to wake up soon.

"There's so much I don't understand." Hermione whispered. Luna turned her head back and met her eyes while they walked, somehow managing not to trip.

"You can understand if you wanted to." she answered vaguely.

"Not if no one tells me anything!"

"But it's all in front of your eyes, you just have to use them."

"Are you saying that I'm not observant?"

"I'm saying that actions speak louder than words. If you just focus on the actions and try to find the reasons behind those actions, then you'll be sure to understand. You can't take anything at face value since you don't know what someone might be trying to hide."

Hermione's mouth snapped shut as she frowned. Unfortunately those words were the most understandable irrefutable words she'd said.

"It's up to you if you want to know the truth. Will you take everything for face value? Or will you look beyond the initial words and find out the extenuating circumstances, the real emotions behind the actions? The Blibbering Humdinger's all agreed that you would so I have confidence. There, we've reach the infirmary." Luna announced.

Hermione sighed and shook her head but strangely enough decided to heed her words since some of it had truth. She had taken the Pure's at face value, believing them all to be just as they seemed, unattached, shallow and lazy. She had received quite a bit of shock to find that it wasn't so. Harry and Ron had helped her during one of the hardest times she's had in school and Luna was providing care and advice. Overall, she concluded it was time to think with a broader prospective.

Luna stayed with her up until Madame Promfrey came out of her office, waving something that smelled like lilacs all around her just before she left 'to make the mischievous nargle's go away'. The experienced nurse tusked at the damage the hexes made but did quick work on setting her right.

"I can write a pass excusing you for classes." Madame Pomfrey offered almost nonchalantly as she busied herself with placing potions back onto her try. Hermione's head shot up to look at her, noting her eyes that gazed at her with a little pity. Turning away, Hermione mulled over the offer.

She knew it would be smart to take the out... to ignore it all for the day and cry alone in her dorms for a while.

_Don't even Hermione Granger! _she chided herself. _You are a Granger! A Gryffindor! You're braver than that! You have done nothing wrong! Don't put your mother's words to shame! _

"No, thank you" Hermione answered, a small willful smile on her face as Madame Promfrey fussed around her. "I'll go to class."

By the time she was done Hermione had missed only two of her classes; the boils would need ointment so they wouldn't leave any scars.

She moved quickly through the halls with the feeling of eyes persistently following her.

_'Chin up Hermione!' Her mother smiled down at her, reaching out to cup her chin and raise her face. 'Always walk with your chin up, it shows you aren't weak or afraid. And just keep telling yourself nothing is ever permanent. Someday, you'll be done with school entirely and moved on to other adventures of life like working and marriage and parenthood. All that you're feeling now will end my darling.' _

Taking a breath, Hermione straightened her back and clutched her books tighter to her chest. _Just ignore them...Just ignore them _she chanted in her head over and over as she walked up to charms.

Of course, as soon as she opened the door to the classroom all eyes fell on her with wide fixated eyes, making her whole body freeze and tremble. Never had she ever really been looked at by her peers before. Much like ones eyes would pass a decorative picture, Hermione was pretty sure her fellow classmates never paid her any mind. Sure, they would occasionally glance and see her when she would be getting picked on by Millicent's bunch...

Like Lavender Brown, for example. Just a little over a month ago Hermione had been cornered by the clock tower on her way to defense by Millicent. Lavender had been passing by with her usual flair, her long dirty blonde hair adorned with barrettes, short skirt wafting dangerously high on her legs... and then she flicked her hair over her shoulder and her blue eyes dully met Hermione's as she was shoved into the wall by the girls. She had paused for half a heart beat before she continued on her way.

And Seamus Finnigan...Hermione could recall many times over the years looking past Dean and meeting the Irish boy's hazel eyes but like everyone else he never held her eyes for long. He would just gaze at her for a moment before he would turn to talk to someone else.

Always when people happened to catch her eyes they held that disinterest, that dismissal. Hermione had come to be very used to this so to have all those eyes on her made her just freeze up.

The feeling was consuming but Hermione fought through it and forced her wobbling legs to move to an empty chair. She zeroed in on the chair in the front row aisle and marched to it, clutching her texts like a life line. She was halfway there when suddenly she was ass over elbows dangling by her skinny ankles in the air.

Blood immediately rushed to her face as her robes fell all around her; laughter sprouted uproariously from everyone's mouths sounding loudly over her squeak of surprise and the clatter of her books falling to the ground.

"Nice underwear mudblood!" someone called out from the laughing crowd.

Humiliation and indignation welled up inside of Hermione as she hung upside down in the air. She wanted to scream! To curse her classmates to next Tuesday! How dare they do this to her! How dare nobody, not even from her own house, raise a finger to defend her!

"Put me down!" She shouted furiously "Put me down this instant or I'll...I'll...!" She couldn't conjure up a threat sufficient enough to quell her rage because, unfortunately there wasn't anything she could do besides go to a Professor. She could feel herself getting dizzy, black dots swarming through her vision, suggesting she was about to pass out.

"You'll what mudblood?" Someone taunted "You're as defenseless as a newborn baby!"

She opened her mouth to retort a waspish '_let me down and we'll see how defenseless I am on equal ground you cowards!'_ when suddenly she felt completely weightless, her body floating upright in one graceful movement as if she was swimming underwater. _  
_

Surprised, Hermione wide eyes fell onto the tip of Harry Potter's wand pointed right at her. For a moment, she couldn't help but feel a spark of fear at the boy's face; a fierce expression of powerful fury and it suddenly felt as if she was back to that night, gazing at the righteous phoenix screaming its blazing cry as it took flight.

But then his vivid green eyes looked away and she was released from its hold, relieved. Instead he turned that intensity to those around him who were now all silent in surprise and awe.

"Who did this?" his voice was low with barely contained fury. Shock hit Hermione at his rage; Why was he so angry? Because they were bullying her? But that seemed so strange to her considering just who this was.

Still kept afloat, Hermione could see that she was not the only one utterly shocked. She could also see that Harry was not alone; Neville, Blaise, Draco, Pansy and Ron all stood behind him, stating loud and clear that they had his back. Ron, she noticed, looked pretty infuriated himself, Neville disgusted, Blaise perturbed, while Draco and Pansy looked simply like they were just following a routine.

"It's nothing, really. Just teaching a mudblood a lesson. You're Pure, you understand." A boy Hermione knew to be Miles Bletchley said with a smirking swagger, reaching out and laying his hand onto Harry's shoulder.

Slowly, Harry glanced down at the offending hand on his shoulder, his eyes cold and flashing with anger. Never before had Hermione ever felt such palpable anger from just a look; it screamed dangerous and evoked a heavy tension about the room.

Miles chuckled nervously but quickly snatched his hand back, a bead of sweat trailing down his forehead.

It was at that moment that Professor Flitwick came into the room, his small, overweight frame wobbling to the podium.

"What's this? You all should know better than to be standing around when a Professor is a little late! Now, come on! Get to your seats...on you go!"

Quickly, Hermione went to sit at the seat in the front, noting that it was the only empty seat. Most of the time the Pure's sat in the back of the classroom so, of course, when all of them moved to sit around her, forcing other's out of their seats, Hermione was immensely surprised that they followed her.

Shaking her head, Hermione got her books and listened diligently to Professor Flitwick, taking notes and trying not to think about the Pure's sitting in their strange blase way around her or everything she had just undergone. It wasn't until halfway through the lesson that she noticed the writing on the corner of her desk.

_**Same place. After class ends.** _

Glancing up, Hermione's eyes sought answers as she looked at Neville and Harry on either side of her but only Neville turned his head slightly to look at her. She raised her eyebrows in question but he gestured his head back down to the desk. Glancing down, Hermione watched the inky black letter's appear on her desk before slowly fading.

_**You'll get your answers** **then**. _

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks so much for the reviews everyone!

I apologize for the late update but I have good news. The next chapter is already done so I will be posting that quickly!

As always let me know what you think, any questions or concerns!


	5. What she discovered

Nodding her head, Hermione turned back to her notes but was thoroughly distracted; for once she felt actually anxious for a relatively interesting lesson to end.

She began making a list of questions then, ranging from least to most important.

Finally the bell rang making Hermione spring up and scramble to get her things back into her bag. She froze though when the Pures stayed with her, staring them with open shock.

"What? You've caused enough trouble for one day..." Malfoy spat, shooting her a glare.

"Yeah, and we just want to get this over with as fast as possible." Pansy answered snootily, gazing down at her nails.

Hermione rolled her eyes but was secretly relieved; it would be too much if suddenly Malfoy and Parkinson showed her concern.

"Merlin, Granger, you're slower than a Troll. _Pack!_" with an impressive swoop of his wand, Blaise managed to pack all of her belongings neatly into her bag.

"Thank you." Hermione said, impressed with his spell. Blaise gave her a saucy wink to which she rolled her eyes at and ignored.

Awkwardly, they walked together to the room they were in last night. Hermione squeezed her books to her chest and stuck her nose in the air, ignoring the leers and whispers igniting as they walked. She knew they probably thought she was surrounded by the Pures to be 'dealt with'. She wanted to rage at them and scream that they were all wrong; to mind their own business!

Yet, at the same time she was distinctly aware of each one of the Pures. Harry beside her walked with purpose, his eyes always fixed ahead, seeing and not seeing at the same time. Neville walked similarly but seemed less... forceful about it. Draco and Blaise both strutted like Princes; Blaise more of a saucy Casanova type prince and Draco more an arrogant 'of with his head!' prince. She didn't need to look at Pansy to know she walked like a Queen, looking down her nose at everyone and moving with a slow arrogance as if to give everyone enough time to look and marvel at her.

And then there was Ron.

Hermione peeked over her shoulder to glance back at him.

His shoulder's were hunched, hands stuffed into his pocket and eyes on the ground. As if he sensed her gaze, he glanced up and met her eyes, surprise changing the dull glaze they normally had. She couldn't help but frown at him and purposefully straightened her back and lifted her head, wordlessly telling him to change his posture.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, his mouth lifted upwards in a slight amused smile, his eyes crinkling with amusement.

A thrill shot through Hermione, making her heart stutter. She stumbled slightly much to her embarrassment and felt her face heat up.

Quickly turning her head so he wouldn't see, Hermione blanched at herself with mortification.

"Okay we're here. I'll get the door." Harry announced, interrupting Hermione's embarrassment.

She watched with wonder as Harry paced in front of the door, her forgotten curiosity at the appearing door sparking again.

"How are you guys doing that? Is it invisible? Some sort of charm?" She couldn't help but ask not seeing Draco roll his eyes at her.

"Honestly mudblood, do you have to know everything?" Pansy said making Hermione frown and cross her arms.

"I was just asking a question! It is rather curious that there's an appearing door-"

"This is Hogwarts Granger, hardly the strangest thing to happen considering..." Blaise said with amusement as Hermione blushed.

"That's true," she admitted, thinking of their curse, "but I still want to know..."

"We call it the Room of Requirement. You have to pace the floor and think of what you want and then the door appears. Only we know about it and we rather like it that way." Harry said giving her a pointed look.

"It's not like I have anyone I would tell...Now, when you say, anything I want do you mean quite literally? What if I said I wanted to travel to the moon or pluto... It has to follow Gamp's five laws of Elemental Transfiguration-"

"Stuff a bezoar down it Granger!" Draco cut off.

Hermione couldn't help but snicker at his words.

"Stuff a bezoar down it?" she chuckled making Draco frown as Harry opened the door and they all clamored inside.

"What? You've never heard that saying before? What, do you live under a Whomping Willow?" Laughing outright Hermione shook her head.

"It's just funny to hear wizarding expression sometimes." she responded.

"Ah, right...muggle's must say something different. Well, come on let's hear it."

"Well we say things like, put a sock in it, and, what do you live under a rock?" she said making Draco balk.

"Those are bloody stupid. Who would put a sock in their mouth? Who would live under a rock? Muggles are warped."

Shaking her head with amusement, Hermione turned back to Harry.

"You still didn't answer-"

"Miss. Granger, I'm sure there a better ways to pass the time here than to answer your questions about this room." Professor Snape announced his presence, swooping into the room with his black cloak swarming around him like bat wings.

Closing her mouth shut with a snap, Hermione couldn't help but bristle at his comment and drawling voice.

"I wasn't-"

"Yes you were Miss. Granger. I have been your professor for four years..."

Reluctantly conceding, Hermione plopping down onto a nearby chair as the others arrived and found seats.

Luna gave her an airy warm smile and wave as she came in and took the closest seat she could to her making Hermione feel slightly warm.

"Hello Hermione, I see the the lilacs helped with the nargles." Luna greeted; Hermione smiled at her kindly with some amusement and frustration.

"Hello Luna." she replied

"Enough dallying, we'll let you start asking questions Miss Granger." Professor Snape started gruffly.

"Alright," Hermione said reaching down into her bag and pulling out her list of questions. She glared as she straightened back up when someone groaned.

"Is that a bloody _list_? Are you kidding Granger?" Pansy whined.

"I thought I was supposed to be asking the questions, Parkinson?" Hermione retorted hotly, gearing up to row as the girl opened her mouth to respond.

"Okay, that's enough. Ignore her Hermione..." Harry suddenly piped up, waving his hand for her to start.

"Hey! Don't you talk to me like that Potter!" Pansy spat to which he ignored.

Heeding him, Hermione turned back to her list and decided to start from the bottom up.

"Right, so my first question is why am I being 'watched'? I already said I wouldn't tell anyone and considering that I would die if I did..."

"I can answer that," Professor Lupin piped up, stepping forward and giving Hermione a slight smile. "Hello Miss. Granger. Unfortunately, in obtaining this secret knowledge and consenting to keep it, you have placed yourself as part of the Cursed... convenient I suppose is an eloquent word. This means that you are always put under a surveillance of sorts; not because of anything you might do but because of what might be done to you." He answered.

Confusion welled in her as she mulled over the answer. She could tell right away that something was off about it.

"And why would anyone in this 'convenient' need to be under surveillance? What might be done to us that would warrant this?" Hermione asked.

Immediately, the air changed in the room, a sort of tension piqued from their stiffness at her inquiries. She realized that she must have just stumbled upon the heart of some other secret. She refused to back down however, crossing her arms and sitting in her chair stiffly.

"Is someone trying to find out about the curse? Am I in danger now?" she pressed.

"There are liabilities, Granger." Blaise answered.

"What liabilities? Who is it? Why would I need surveillance in Hogwarts? Is this the real reason why I have to live in...Grimmand?" She pounced, making Blaise shuffle back slightly.

"Grimmauld, and yes it is." Harry answered, her eyes shooting to meet his.

"And as to who would try to use me to find out this secret and why I wouldn't be protected in Hogwarts...?"

Peering around the room, Hermione waited for an answer, noting everyone's reluctance to answer her.

Malfoy had his head tilted back, staring at the ceiling as if he mentally checked out of this conversation, though Hermione nodded his tension and clenched fists. Pansy beside him seemed to find her nails fascinating, messing with her cuticles with a sort of 'don't bother me' expression on her face. Blaise sat with his arms braced on his spread legs, staring at the floor, his tongue nervously licking his lips. Cho sat perched on the arm of his chair, her legs and arms crossed and her body half turned away from her as if to say she wasn't fully committed to listening though from the corner her eyes she watched everyone faces. Ginny looked practically one with the couch, her long red hair strewn over the back of it as she sat much like a boy with her legs outstretched onto a small table in front of her peering down at her feet, though she kept fiddling her hands. Luna on the table where Ginny's feet were on, looked positively merry as she smiled back at Hermione, her long shinny blonde hair touching the top of the table.

"Luna?" she asked, putting the girl on the spot.

"It's-" Luna readily began but stopped as Neville reach out across from her and placed his hand on her knee in warning just as Harry cleared his throat.

Raising an indignant brow at Neville, she felt taken aback when the boy glared angrily right back at her, his body still slightly hovering protectively over Luna. Quickly turning away, Hermione fixed her eyes on Harry and raised her brow as if to say 'well'.

"I suppose we'll just have to tell her everything..." Harry spoke, his eyes shifting to Snape as if to gauge his reaction.

It was small, a mere incline of his head, but everyone in the room seemed to relax at this gesture.

"Right," Harry started, running a hand through his hair as he turned pensive. "I know you're muggle born but have you ever read the tales of the beedle and the bard?"

Hermione's brow furrowed as she tried to recall any reference to the book. She slightly recalled stumbling on the name when researching a text in muggle studies on the difference between muggle and wizarding upbringings.

"It's a children's book right? Nobody knows who made up the stories, only that they were passed down through the generations much like myths and legends until 1642 when someone named J.K Rowling put all the stories together."

"Merlin, how do you even know that? That can't be normal..." Blaise piped up. Shooting him a glare, Hermione sat straighter in her chair.

"I read, honestly its not a foreign concept..."

"Hey, easy there little one, I'm not insulting you. We're hardly normal ourselves..." Blaise said, throwing up her hands and making her blush.

"Oh sorry." she mumbled embarrassed.

"Anyway, let's get back to the point." Cho interrupted, surprising Hermione with her Scottish lit; she had never heard the girl's voice before.

"Right," Harry said, "so have you read the stories in them?"

"No, can't say I ever had."

"Oh really? What a surprise! A book the bookworm hasn't read." Pansy spat, rolling her eyes as Draco chuckled.

"Anyways," Harry cut in sharply glaring at the girl. "There's a story in there called Voldemort and the Great Race-"

"Oh wait Harry!" Luna cut in with a dreamy smile, her blue eyes alight. "Can I tell the story?"

Sighing impatiently, Harry slapped his head but gave on okay gesture. Springing up, Luna eagerly bounded to the front of the room, her long wavy blonde hair swinging behind her back as she spun back around to face her with a surprisingly serious face.

"Once upon a time, a long long time ago, there was a boy who lived a lonely life on a faraway hill...

* * *

White.

It was all he could see in front of his eyes; the world painted white. He felt so very cold, his breath visible with every exhale as he continued to trudge along. His teeth chattered at an alarming rate, his fingers and lips turning blue. He knew that if he didn't find some shelter soon from this blizzard he was going to die...He almost wanted to just give up, his body underfed, his soul tired.

But...

Wearily, he hugged his arms closer around himself, feeling the press of his wand on his side.

Purpose flooded his being as white swirled all around him; blindly, he pressed forward knowing he would not stop until his last breath. He needed to see how this was going to go, how his life would play out. He wanted to think that he had a greater purpose than being a 'devil child' cast out from his tribe. He wasn't evil, what he could do wasn't wrong!

Was it so horrible to talk to animals? Was it so wrong to be able to heal other people? To have things happen with just a thought?

Sluggishness made him stumble but it was the harsh winds that really pushed him down into the snow. Frost covered his face and hair as snow seeped into his body, into his bones.

His eyes closed on their own accord as he felt his breathing wane.

When he opened them again his first feeling was warmth, glorious warmth. Opening his eyes, he found the strangest sight before him...thirteen different kind of animals... no, not animals, creatures, lying all around him, some helping to keep him warm, other's assisting to keep him safe, and nourished.

It took three days for him to heal, the creatures helping him, keeping him safe. When his strength allowed, he started to build a home for them using his magic with prompt from the creatures.

Time passed and pretty soon, the lonely boy found friends with these strange creatures. Soon, he was living a pretty comfortable life, learning more about magic, creating spells until one day he got an idea.

He wanted to turn his friends into humans like him.

So one day he told his friends that he would preform a ritual to turn them into humans so they could be together always. He would do it elaborate way; making it an extravagant banquet in which they would eat delicious food and enjoy each other's company as they turned into humans.

And although the creatures had saved his life and stuck by him, the boy was still but a fickle child, wounded by the cruelty his fellow villagers had shown him. So he hatched a cruel plan in which any creature that did not show up on time to the banquet would be cursed to turn into something so foul it could not be spoken out loud...

Twelve made it to the ritual, one did not, eliciting the curse upon the poor creature. What the young mage, Voldemort, didn't realize was that in turning the magical creatures into humans he irreparably damaged their souls when he bonded them to him. So, in reality, he had cursed them all...

* * *

"Of course, he didn't know at the time just what he did..." Luna finished, her tone pleasant despite the somber atmosphere in the room.

"What exactly did he do?" Hermione asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"He bonded our bloodline. This curse is passed down through generations of our families." Neville answered.

"Also, there normally is only one or two of the families that get the curse at a time." Ginny said,

"You mean that each of your families get turns?" Hermione asked.

"In a way, I suppose. And normally it skips a generation so that the same creature isn't 'reborn' twice. There's only ever one animal reborn. This is the first time that it worked out for all of us to be around at the same time." Luna said happily looking around.

"Why? Is there a sort of rule to this thing?"

"Well, the only other time that all the creatures were together was the first time, when Voldemort performed the ritual." Harry answered.

"So this is the only other time that you all have been together?"

"Yes Granger," Malfoy said with a tone that scream 'keep up!'

"There's just a couple of things that confuses me," Hermione said "Why was there only twelve, what happened to the thirteenth? How does Professor Snape sort in?"

"The thirteenth didn't make it on time to the banquet but that doesn't mean he didn't get cursed," Ron said, his voice deep and eyes downcast. "He just got something else."

"What-?"

"Snape used to be part of this but his curse was broken somehow. He can't change into his creature anymore." Ginny cut in, sufficiently distracting her.

"What? So the curse can be broken?" turning on her heel, Hermione stared at Snape with fascination, questions ready to spew from her mouth. Snape met her gaze with a deadpanned look, his arms crossed across his chest.

"Yes, Miss Granger, as Ginerva just said. Please do refrain from asking redundant questions." he drawled, managing to ruffle Hermione's feathers just like in class. Glaring, Hermione took a deep breath and prepared her questions.

"Right, so how long ago did this happen?" she had to restrain herself from shooting off all her questions at once.

"Nearly for as long as you have been born, Ms. Granger." he replied, his voice strangely dangerous sounding, as if warning her to tread lightly on this subject; she did not heed it.

"And do you know why? Does Voldemort know? How does he-"

"Enough Ms. Granger! Those questions aren't relevant to you so don't presume you have a right to ask questions of everything!" Snape hissed, his dark eyes flashing.

Snapping her mouth shut, Hermione reddened as an uncomfortable silence took over.

"I just..." clearing her throat, Hermione lifted her eyes and gazed around the room. "I just have one more question; I know that you all don't have to leave school when you guys...transform, so, where do you all go when you leave skip out classes?"

Tension filled the room again as all the Pures went still.

"Err..."

"Since, she's living with us she might as well know." Harry said, turning his eyes to Snape; sighing, he gave Harry a curt nod.

"We told you before that there are some people who are curious about the curse." Harry said, turning back to her and fixing his green gaze on hers intently.

"Yes, and you said that was dangerous for me and anyone else in the family because they would want to use me to get information on you." she reiterated.

"Exactly," he said with a nod, "So in order to stop them, Voldemort sometimes sends us out on these missions to lead the guys astray..."

"Pfft!" Draco interrupted, his face scornfully smiling as he gazed at Harry. "Oh come on! I thought we were being honest here..."

"Draco..." Harry said with a stern warning look as Hermione looked back and forth between the two with curiosity and suspicion.

"So you don't only give false leads for these folks trying to dig up your curse? Do you pay them off or something?" Hermione asked as she noticed everyone getting even more uncomfortable as her mind came up with the possibilities of why.

"Among other things. Things that would keep you up at night, Granger." Draco piped in with a dangerous smirk on his face. Aghast, Hermione gaped at him for a moment with horror as he all but confirmed her thoughts.

"Shut up Draco!" Ginny bellowed, throwing a pillow cushion at him, which he caught without looking.

"What I can't tell her how we strike the fear of Merlin into the hearts of our enemies with underhanded, despicable means-" He hissed, his eyes like his dragon as he locked gazes with Hermione.

"Shut up Malfoy-"

"That we hunt and prey on weak little wizards and witches that dare cross us-" he practically purred as Ginny went red faced with anger, Harry's face grew incredibly closed off, Luna turned her face away, Neville put his head in his hands, Blaise gazed dispassionately up at the ceiling, Cho bit down on her nails, and Pansy just smiled humorously.

"Enough, Malfoy-"

"That we snatch them away from their little lives, interrogate them, threaten their families, beat them down, fuck with their heads, make them beg to let them go-" he kept on, leaning forward as he stared into her eyes, a cold deadpanned glint in his eyes that backed up his words, his inhumanity.

"Draco please," Luna whispered, her voice sounding choked up. Without removing his hand from his face, Neville reached out and gently squeezed Luna's shoulder.

"We tear apart people's lives to protect our own and we enjoy it, Granger. It is after-all, the nature of the bea-"

Faster than Hermione could blink, Ron was in his face, his hand clenching Malfoy's shirt as he gazed down at the blonde, his eyes cold and for more frightening than Draco's words.

"Shut your fucking mouth Malfoy! That is not true!" Ron ordered, his face red like his sisters, as he gave Draco a hard shake.

Everyone was frozen, watching him with open fear and through the clouds of Hermione's own petrified mind, she realized something...something that she had been suspecting since the beginning of the conversation.

_He's the one they were talking about. He's the creature that was cursed for being late to the banquet._

As if suddenly noticing the change of atmosphere in the room, Ron tensely let Draco go, his shoulders slumping slightly as he stepped back. It was audible to even Hermione the breath of relief that went around the room.

Something arose in Hermione as she gazed at Ron's slumped shoulders. She wanted to see his face properly but his fringe covered his eyes so she could only see his lips in a grimace. She wished she knew how to break this horrible atmosphere, make the others stop staring at him with that look in their eyes.

"It's not true." he all but whispered, shifting slightly away from everyone and closer to the door.

Something about his movement, the way he carried himself, raised a sense of empathy in Hermione. She couldn't count on five hands how many times she'd been outcast-ed, misunderstood, alone even in a room filled with people. She knew that Ron was the same as her; even with the Pures, he was regarded differently. It was the same for her, even among magical people, she didn't have a place.

Before her mind could even think, she was already moving closer to his side. Reaching out, Hermione placed a hand on his clenched fist, making him jolt at the contact. His eyes immediately met hers, wide with shock as she met him head on.

_Finally,_ she thought, _I can see his eyes. _

"I believe you. Even if those things he said are true, I don't think you guys enjoyed it," Hermione said, looking away as she gazed at the others. "I don't think anyone of you wants to hurt anyone."

She couldn't tell what was going on in any of their heads at that moment, but they all were now staring at her.

"And what makes you so sure Granger?" Blaise asked with a hint of bite, but Hermione was prepared for that question.

"Because if you all were really that cruel, you wouldn't be so afraid of what I thought. Even you, Draco. You said all that to scare me but isn't that because your bitter about the fear we get over your ability. It was written all over your face, your scornful because you've been disappointed by others in the past-"

"AND HOW WOULD YOU KNOW MUDBLOOD!" Draco bellowed, shooting up from his chair as his face twisted into one of anger. She felt Ron get a little closer to her as if to protect her but Hermione knew it wouldn't be necessary. Draco hadn't even taken a step closer to her.

"I know because of your actions-"

"Your just think you know it all, don't you? I was plainly threatening you-" He continued to rage as Hermione shook her head.

"You have never once threatened me Draco," Hermione said simply.

"Don't you say my name mud-"

"None of you have ever hurt me and you've never hurt anyone here-"

"Of course we haven't idiot! We'd get kicked out of school, thrown into Azkaban," Pansy spat.

"No, that's not why and you know it!" Hermione said, getting impatient with the arguing. "If that was so you and you're really evil as you claim to be than you would have done something over summer. You can't tell me that if you really wanted to you couldn't find a way of hurting someone with no way of tracing it back to you!"

"Besides," Hermione continued, on a roll now, "none of you asked to be born this way and all of you still are humans! Plus, there are a ton of people who turn into animals! There called animagus and you they're all normal!"

"That's different, Hermione. You know it is. We're not animals, we're-" Harry started but Hermione just waved him away.

"I know what you are. Honestly, there isn't a much difference between an animal and a magical creature. They're both equally as dangerous in the right circumstances-"

"Exactly!" Cho suddenly bellowed, surprising Hermione the most out of all the outbursts so far. "We're dangerous-"

"Dangerous, yes, you all can be very dangerous, if you wanted to be," Hermione said seriously "but evil? cruel? no. I don't anyone of you would want to do what you do if the situation was different and that won't change no matter how loud you yell at me."

"As touching as all this has been," Snape suddenly interrupted, startling Hermione who had forgotten he was there "Miss. Granger has learned everything there is and there is no reason to further waste our times here arguing a pointless argument." Snape said as he moved towards the exit, his cloak fanning like black wings.

"And by the way, its five o' clock" he drawled, his dark eyes briefly meetings Harry's before the door shut with a soft click behind him.

"Bullocks!" Ginny exclaimed as everyone immediately scrambled up, gathering their things. Hermione watched them move with curiosity and shock as they all looked rather alarmed.

"We're late for dinner," Ron answered her unspoken question, "We always eat dinner with Voldemort that's why we never eat at the Great Hall."

"Oh," Hermione said "That must be nice, I suppose?" she said more like a question. She couldn't help but frown a little at Ron's bitter smile.

"Take care on you way back," he responded, quickly turning around on his heel and out the door, but not before Hermione spotted his ears going bright red.

She smiled at his back, feeling suddenly very happy with what she accomplished despite the rough start of the day. Lost in her thoughts of her success especially with Ron, she didn't notice Harry coming up beside her until he spoke.

"I feel like I have to say thank you, Hermione." he said making Hermione jump.

"And why is that?" she asked, placing a hand over her racing heart as Harry smiled at her.

"I don't know. I think you meant what you said back then, that whole argument thing and so, err... Thanks for thinking that way, I guess. I know you're right with Draco; he likes to pretend he's meaner than he really is so he pushes a lot of buttons but you nailed it right on the head with what you said. He only does that to defend himself from being hurt. It's the same with all of us." Harry said, his green eyes breaking away from hers.

Clearing his throat, Harry awkwardly took a step towards the exit.

"And as a thank you, I'll make sure those rumors are set right about you. I don't know how they got started but I can promise you that it wasn't any of us." he said as Hermione gave him a skeptical look.

"Are you sure? Pansy-"

"No, I know she acts bitchy but Pansy didn't do it. Anyway, it will be over by tomorrow so just make sure you stay clear until then, yeah?" he said walking out the door.

"Alright..." Hermione said to his back.

"Oh!" he suddenly turned back around, "and you can err...sit with us during class and meals if you want to. I know Draco and Pansy might kick up a stink but your invited to." he said, blushing slightly.

Hermione would be lying if she said that she didn't feel a rush of happiness at his words.

"Maybe," she whispered, feeling a little too choked up as she averted her eyes, missing Harry's knowing look.

"Alright, bye then, Hermione."

"Bye Harry." She responded, smiling broadly at the ground.

* * *

**A:N Thanks for the reviews! Another chapter due this week! Thank God It's Summmerrrrr!**


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